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Namibian Wildlife Crimes article archive

This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:

  • provide easy public access to published information and statistics
  • enable easy stakeholder access to articles
  • provide a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia

Public access to information is a vital component of ensuring community engagement in prevalent issues. Wildlife crime is one of the pressing environmental issues of our time.

Wildlife crime investigations are generally covert operations requiring utmost confidentiality to succeed. Investigations and prosecutions in complex cases may take months or even years to complete. For this reason, the information that can be released to the public without compromising cases is often limited. Nonetheless, the Namibian government strives to share as much information as possible with the public.

The Namibian media has welcomed this approach and regularly publishes statistics and feature articles on wildlife crime. These are entered into the database at regular intervals, creating a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia.

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Displaying results 1 - 13 of 13
Thursday, 26 October 2023
Xulu L 2023. Sentencing of three wildlife poachers hailed as a success.

The recent sentencing of three wildlife poachers has been hailed as a success in the anti-poaching efforts of the Greytown community. Farmers, SAPS and security companies working together to curb poaching in the Greytown area have welcomed the sentences handed down to three men aged between 27 and 42 years old, who were found guilty of illegal hunting by the Greytown Magistrate's Court. The three men were each sentenced to eight months' imprisonment or a R2 000 fine.

Sunday, 10 September 2023
Muonwa J 2023. Pair busted selling elephant skin for US$1,500.

Two accused persons have appeared in court following their arrest by detectives for allegedly trying to unlawfully dispose off an elephant hide for US$1,500.

Friday, 24 February 2023
Muonwa J 2023. Poacher in dock for shooting US$50K elephant.

A member of a poaching syndicate has appeared in court for allegedly gunning down a bull elephant valued at US$50 000.

Thursday, 1 September 2022
Matthys D 2022. 48 rhinos poached in 8 months.

The first eight months of 2022 saw 48 rhinos poached, four times more than the rhinos poached in 2021, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism announced on Wednesday. The country recorded 44 rhinos poached in 2021, 42 in 2020, 57 in 2019, 83 in 2018, and 55 in 2017. The Etosha National Park alone saw 20 cases this year, with two carcasses discovered in the area just last week. In total, 32 poached rhinos are black and 16 are white. A total of 12 black rhinos were poached on custodianship farms and 16 white rhinos were poached on private farms.

Thursday, 1 September 2022
Matthys D 2022. 48 rhinos fall prey to poachers.

Namibia saw 48 rhinos killed for their horns in the first eight months of 2022, four more than the 44 cases reported in 2021. The country recorded 44 rhinos poached in 2021, 42 in 2020, 57 in 2019, 83 in 2018, and 55 in 2017. Etosha National Park alone saw 20 cases this year, with two carcasses discovered in the area just last week. The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism said of the poached rhinos, 32 are black and 16 are white.

Sunday, 12 June 2022
Xulu L 2022. Three alleged poachers arrested in Hluhluwe, KZN.

Three people were arrested for alleged poaching inside the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park in the northern KwaZulu-Natal. This was confirmed by the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife on Sunday, which said the trio were arrested before they could kill a rhino. The first man was arrested on June 6 and two others were caught two days later. These arrest bring the number of alleged poachers caught inside the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park this year to five. "The Park has been under siege since the beginning of 2022.

Monday, 28 February 2022
Muonwa J 2022. Poachers kill endangered white rhino.

A carcass of a white rhinoceros shot dead by poachers has been discovered in Bikita, Masvingo province, as wildlife poaching escalates in the country. The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) national spokesperson, assistant commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the discovery of the endangered animal's carcass made last Sunday.

Wednesday, 13 October 2021
Petersen S Poaching: 369 arrests in nine months.

At least 369 alleged poachers have been arrested in the last nine months, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism says. "Of these cases, 100 are related to pangolin poaching and trafficking, 64 to elephant poaching and trafficking, while 113 are related to rhino poaching and trafficking," ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda says. Over the last five years, elephant poaching has declined from 50 cases in 2017 to five thus far this year, while rhino poaching declined from 81 cases in 2018 to 14 this year. Ministry officials last week discovered two carcasses…

Thursday, 22 April 2021
Muonwa J 2021. Court acquits villagers busted with US$1 400 Ivory.

A Karoi magistrate has cleared two Karoi villagers for charges of unlawful possession of raw ivory valued at US$1 467,10. Whynos Dzotso (23) and Knowledge Nyamukondiwa (25) who both reside under Chief Kazangarare, Karoi were this Tuesday acquitted by Magistrate Felix Chauromwe who made the ruling following the defence's application for discharge at the close of the state case.

Wednesday, 10 March 2021
Muonwa J 2021. Elephant tusk lands Karoi villagers in trouble.

TWO Karoi villagers have been dragged to court for illegal possession of an elephant tusk valued at US$1 467,10.

Thursday, 30 July 2020
Muonwa J 2020. Chinhoyi Trio arrested in a trap selling live pangolin.

Three local men, who allegedly tried to sell a live pangolin, appeared in court here Tuesday facing charges of illegal possession of an endangered species.

Monday, 6 July 2020
Matthys D 2020. B2Gold supports community-backed rhino conservation efforts in north-west Namibia.

With conservation funding affected by the lockdown, a number of areas in north-western Namibia’s rhino range have been left exposed by the lack of tourists thus requiring extra patrolling. With the donation of 1,000 ounces of gold by B2Gold, the launch of the B2Gold Rhino Gold Bar in January 2020 and the subsequent sale of 600 bars to local buyers, the B2Gold Rhino Gold Bar Advisory Committee has responded to the crisis.

Tuesday, 28 January 2020
Matthys D 2020. Anti-rhino poaching short film to screen at DHPS next week.

Local short film, ‘Baxu and the Giants’ will have its first public screening of the year at the DHPS Auditorium, on Thursday, 6 February. Entrance is free but any donations to the Save the Rhino Trust will be welcome.

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