This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:
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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NAM_2024_05_Bull elephant poachers wanted_Namibian Sun.pdf | 108.95 KB |
The consequences for local ecosystems and communities are serious, [including the] deterioration of natural capital, social stability and cohesion; extinction of animal species; and erosion of sustainable economic development. South Africa is home to the world's largest rhino population and is a key source for the illicit supply chain. In the first six months of this year, 231 rhinos were killed in South African game reserves. Of these, 143 were in KwaZulu-Natal.
After weeks of being kept in cramped spaces, deprived of food and water, many pangolins rescued from the illegal wildlife trade don't survive. But those who survive are given a second chance at some of South Africa's private game reserves, including &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal. Since 2019, &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve has successfully reintroduced several pangolins onto its property, with a number of them having bred and produced a second generation of these endangered animals.
Rangers at South African game reserves have been implicated in supplying information to rhino poachers. This is one of the forms of corruption that the Wildlife Justice Commission says is fueling wildlife crime. However, SANParks says it is implementing measures to reduce corruption, including a polygraph testing system.
The Hawks have arrested a man in connection with the theft of 51 rhino horns. The horns were stolen from a stockpile in the North West. The man is expected to appear in court on Monday to face a charge of business robbery.
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SA_2023_07_Hawks make arrest after theft of 50 rhino horns from North West stockpile_News24.pdf | 271.19 KB |
Fifty rhino horns stolen from a stockpile in the North West will likely leave South Africa as beads, mugs, or souvenirs, experts have said. The stockpile was stolen in the early hours of Monday morning from the North West Parks and Tourism Board in Mahikeng. Reports suggest the robbers evaded security measures, alarms, security cameras and bypassed the locking mechanism of the vault. Experts have speculated that the rhino horns may already be on their way to Asian markets, based on insights into how wildlife crime syndicates operate.
The Skukuza Regional Court has handed a 15-year sentence to a man found guilty of poaching-related offences. He was found to have illegally entered the Kruger National Park on two occasions. The second time he entered the park illegally he was out on bail for the first charge.
Private game reserves are buckling under the costs of keeping rhinos safe from poachers. This as the trend shows poachers have set their sights on private reserves. More than 250 rhinos were poached in the first half of the year.
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SA_2022_09_Rhino poaching hits private game reserves in the pocket_News24.pdf | 549.59 KB |
Strides made with hefty sentences and fines for criminals endangering game rangers and animals. When Jimmy Mashopane of Winterveld, north of Pretoria, was arrested for shooting, killing and mutilating nine white rhino in a Free State game reserve, taking 14 horns estimated at more than R500,000, veteran prosecutor Antoinette Ferreira threw the book at him. That one of the rhino was a month away from giving birth "only enhances one's sense of abomination", judge Phillip Loubser said.
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SA_2022_09_Courts fire shots across the bows of poaching syndicates_Business Live.pdf | 485.82 KB |
Rhino conservation groups say a collaborative, cross-border approach is needed to stop poaching. South Africa lost 259 rhinos to poaching in the first half of the year. Private game reserves are increasingly targeted by poachers, forcing them to increase security measures.
'n Vermeende stroper is Sondag op die plaas Kaliombo in die Karibib-omgewing in die been geskiet. Volgens die Namibiese polisie se misdaadverslag het die 65-jarige plaaseienaar omstreeks 23:45 die honde hoor blaf. Veiligheidswagte van K-Sapu het hom ingelig oor vermeende stropers op sy eiendom. Die boer het ondersoek gaan instel en drie mans met vleis gewaar. Die verdagtes was met assegaaie en 'n byl gewapen. Hulle het ook drie honde by hulle gehad. Die verdagtes het na bewering probeer om die boer aan te val.
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NAM_2022_08_Vermeende stroper in been geskiet_Republikein.pdf | 471.87 KB |
NAM_2022_08_Suspected poacher shot in the leg_Republikein_Eng.pdf | 470.19 KB |
A farmer shot and wounded a suspected poacher in the leg at farm Kaliombo in the Karibib district on Sunday. It is alleged the farmer acted in self-defence, after a group of alleged poachers attempted to attack him after he discovered them on his farm. According to a crime update provided by the Namibian police, the farm owner (65) was alerted to possible intruders (65) when he heard dogs barking on Sunday at about 23:45. He was also notified about suspected poachers on his farm by security guards from K-Sapu Security and Anti-Poaching.
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NAM_2022_08_Suspected poacher wounded by farmer_Namibian Sun.pdf | 318.84 KB |
Four people have been arrested for trying to sell a pangolin for R250 000. They were arrested at a North West mall while attempting to find a buyer. The pangolin was found in their car and taken to safety.
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SA_2022_04_Four bust at North West mall trying to sell pangolin for R250 000_News24.pdf | 346.36 KB |
Four suspected poachers have been arrested. Two were found in the Kruger National Park on Monday and the other two were arrested on Tuesday. This week, two other men were sentenced to 19 years in prison after they were arrested for poaching.
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SA_2022_04_4 men arrested in connection with separate Kruger National Park poaching incidents_News24.pdf | 353.27 KB |
Two rhino poachers have been sentenced to an effective 19 years' imprisonment for a 2019 poaching incident in the Kruger National Park. The Regional Court in Skukuza in Mpumalanga sentenced Micheal Chauke, 57, and Americo Mathonsi, 59, on Thursday. The men were found to have killed two rhinos on 22 May 2019, said police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli.
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SA_2022_02_Poachers handed effective 19_year sentence for killing two rhinos_News24.pdf | 664.84 KB |
Two rhino poachers have been sentenced to an effective 16 years' imprisonment each. The men were arrested in February when rangers from the Lower Sabie and Crocodile Bridge sections of the Kruger National Park reacted after three armed suspects were seen entering the park by crossing the border between South Africa and Mozambique, said police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala.
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SA_2021_11_Poachers handed heavy sentences after being found with rhino horns_News24.pdf | 420.06 KB |
Five men have been arrested in the Western Cape in connection with the illegal possession of more than 5 600 succulents. The arrests were the result of an integrated operation between the police, Malmesbury Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit and Cape Nature, said police spokesperson Sergeant Luqmaan Adams on Thursday. "The suspects were arrested after they were stopped and searched on the N7 close to Vanrhynsdorp.
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SA_2021_10_Five arrested for allegedly poaching Western Cape succulents_News24.pdf | 269.77 KB |
Three men accused of rhino poaching have each been sentenced to an effective 35 years in jail. They were found in possession of rhino horn valued at R1.5 million. The accused were found to have killed three female rhinos in 2018.
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SA_2021_10_Three poachers get an effective 35 years behind bars for killing 3 female rhinos_News24.pdf | 431.48 KB |
There are fewer than 5,630 black rhinos left in the wild, but the last remaining free-ranging population live in the Kunene and Erongo regions of North West Namibia. These special desert-adapted rhinos are protected by our partner Save the Rhino Trust (SRT). The past year has been especially difficult for SRT's team. They have not only had to cope with the ever-present threat of poaching and drought but also had to deal with the additional pressures brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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NAM_2021_04_Mounting efforts to save rhinos in Namibia_Save The Rhino.pdf | 434.54 KB |
To raise awareness for rhino conservation, Namibian-born international model Behati Prinsloo has joined forces with Save The Rhino Trust Namibia (SRT). As part of her alliance with the organisation, she is launching a global campaign and is visiting Namibia this month, entrenching herself in the movement to protect the critically endangered black rhino species and preserve the population.
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NAM_2019-05_Behati Prinsloo joins forces with Save the Rhino Trust Namibia_The Namibian.pdf | 315.68 KB |