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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At least five elephants were shot and stripped of their tusks in early April 2023 in southern Chad. Shocked by this wildlife crime, the organisation SOS Elephants of Chad is calling on the government to act firmly against the resurgence of poaching of Chad’s endangered elephants.
Four individuals involved in the illegal trafficking of four ivory tips were arrested on April 5 and 6, 2023 in Makokou, a town in northeastern Gabon. The elephant population in Gabon remains threatened despite regular ivory seizures by Water and Forestry agents. This observation has led civil society to explore actions upstream of the ivory trade process. In Gabon, efforts to fight crime related to protected wildlife species have just resulted in new arrests.
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GAB_2023_04_Four suspected ivory traffickers arrested in Makokou_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 230.77 KB |
The future of the rhino is becoming increasingly bleak, despite efforts to combat poaching. According to the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Save the Rhino International, South Africa, which is home to around 80% of the world's rhinos, has lost almost 75% of its rhino population in less than ten years. These figures were revealed on 22 September 2022, World Rhino Day.
The Gabonese authorities have just arrested an alleged wildlife trafficker. The latter was caught in the act of holding and selling about twenty kilograms of ivory. In Gabon, elephants are protected by the wildlife law in force.
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GAB_2022_08_Alleged ivory trafficker arrested in Fougamou_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 131.6 KB |
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism is investigating some of its workers at Etosha National Park for possibly playing a part in the rhino poaching syndicate which recently left 11 of the mammals dead. Addressing the media yesterday environment minister Pohamba Shifeta said they suspect the "act" was an inside job. All the rhinos killed were also dehorned. He said the ministry is broadening investigations to determine whether its workers were complicit in the matter.
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NAM_2022_06_Government probes workers for poaching_The Namibian.pdf | 509.23 KB |
Environment, Forestry and Tourism Minister Pohamba Shifeta says the recent discoveries of 11 dead rhinos are an indication that the country needs to up its game in curbing wildlife crime. This comes after the rhino carcasses were discovered at Etosha National Park, since the beginning of June to date, with their horns removed.
The Environment and Tourism Ministry says it has discovered 11 rhino carcasses at the Etosha National Park since the beginning of this month. According to the ministry's spokesperson Romeo Muyunda, investigations indicate the carcasses are at least three weeks old. "This is regrettable and a strong indication that the fight against poaching is not over," he said. To date, 22 rhinos have been poached this year.
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NAM_2022_06_Eleven rhino carcasses found at Etosha_The Namibian.pdf | 553.15 KB |
There is an urgent need to step up the fight against wildlife crime and human-induced reduction of species, which have wide-ranging economic, environmental and social impacts in the country, Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndhlovu says.
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ZIM_2022_03_Step up fight against wildlife crime_The Herald.pdf | 291.82 KB |
Rustenbrug: A 25-year-old man, arrested for allegedly selling a pangolin for R200 000, was released on warning at the Kuruman Magistrate's Court, the Hawks in Northern Cape said on Tuesday. Spokesperson Nomthandazo Mnisi said Sipho Bosman appeared in court on Monday, facing a charge of illegal possession of endangered species, in terms of the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004. "The suspect was arrested on Friday, October 1, 2021, after information surfaced about someone who was allegedly selling a pangolin for R200 000".
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SA_2021_10_Northern Cape man arrested for allegedly selling pangolin for R200K_IOL.pdf | 301.22 KB |
Zimbabwe needs to establish an independent and specialised environmental court to effectively deal with the environmental litigation cases and offer better quality of sentencing to safeguard and restore the country's environment, WWF - Zimbabwe country director, Dr Enos Shumba says.
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ZIM_2021-02_Just in_Call to establish environmental court _The Herald.pdf | 361.12 KB |
Namibia has recorded a drastic drop in rhino and elephant poaching cases in the past three years because of improved response mechanisms, the government said yesterday. Minister of environment Pohamba Shifeta said the country has seen a reduction in rhino poaching numbers from 78 cases in 2018, 49 in 2019 and 17 so far this year.
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NAM_2020-07_Rhino_elephant poaching cases down_The Namibian.pdf | 267.91 KB |
About 100,000 children in and around the national parks of Gonarezhou in Zimbabwe and Limpopo in Mozambique are being educated through the Peace and Changemaker Generation project to appreciate wildlife conservation efforts and to take a stand against wildlife crime. The project also promotes girls’ rights in their communities as part of wider efforts to strengthen the two countries’ efforts to combat wildlife trafficking.
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ZIM_2020-02_elephants Zimbabwe Mozambique_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 1.04 MB |