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.
Explore your search results using the filter checkboxes, or amend your search or start a new search.
Durban - A Good Samaritan came to the rescue of a poached duiker when he confiscated the animal from its poacher. The Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (Crow) reported that on Sunday it received a call from a concerned member of the public from Hammarsdale, who informed them that he had confiscated a male grey duiker as it was a victim of poaching.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_03_Good Samaritan to the rescue after confiscating a poached grey duiker_IOL.pdf | 414.72 KB |
Botswana's government has presented to the ongoing CITES CoP-19 in Panama a detailed document on the country's efforts to contain rhino poaching which increased at least 100 fold between 2018 and 2020. The country recorded two rhino poaching incidents in the five years between 2012 and 2017 with zero incidents reported in 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2017.
Botswana' Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) has confirmed the recent arrest of a man found in possession of a live pangolin in the capital Gaborone. The department says the incident was reported to them by the Botswana Police, raising concern about the continued poaching of pangolins.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
BOT_2022_11_Botswana man arrested for possession of live pangolin_Independent.pdf | 277.61 KB |
A white rhino has reportedly been killed and dehorned by poachers inside the protected Khama Rhino Sanctuary (KRS) in Botswana. Two separate conservationists have reported about the killing. One conservationist told this publication that their sources inside the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) confirmed the incident. "Two weeks ago a white rhino was poached at Khama Rhino Sanctuary but they are denying it happened at their property but sources inside DWNP confirm it was indeed at KRS."
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
BOT_08_Rhino killed at Khama Sanctuary_Sunday Standard.pdf | 437.09 KB |
'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.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
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.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2022_08_Suspected poacher wounded by farmer_Namibian Sun.pdf | 318.84 KB |
The Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF) and Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) recently announced a long-term landmark partnership focused on better comprehending the current state of knowledge about the illegal wildlife trade (IWT), and the economics of IWT in southern Africa.
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) has confirmed that it has moved to make security adjustments and to close any loopholes in Etosha National Park to ensure that wildlife crimes, poaching incidences, in particular, do not occur again.
Durban - Two suspects are expected to appear in court on Monday after the Hawks arrested them for being in possession of two ‘recently extracted’ rhino horns, while travelling from KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng.
"The absence of tourists in conservation areas enables poachers to act more freely. In normal times, tourists act as additional 'eyes and ears' in conservation areas, and their presence deters poachers from acting, but the decline in tourism activity emboldened poachers," a UK government report on the impact of Covid-19 on poaching has said.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
BOT_2022_04_Increased movement in wildlife areas reduces poaching activities_Sunday Standard.pdf | 343.45 KB |
Poaching intensified over the past three years following the 2018 decision by the government to disarm the anti-poaching unit under the DWNP. The 100+ rhinos poached since the disarmament represents a 100+ percent increase in poaching incidents when compared to the previous three years when Botswana lost one rhino per annum in the preceding 2015, 2016, and 2017 when the unit had firearms. There were at least 12 rhinos poached in 2018, 29 rhinos in 2019, and over 50 poached by the end of 2020.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
BOT_2021_11_Botswana struggles with rising cases of rhino poaching_Independent Co.pdf | 716.01 KB |
Durban - Two suspects were arrested in the posh Zimbali Eco Estate, on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal, for dealing in elephant tusks.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2021_11_Two suspects arrested in posh Zimbali Eco Estate for dealing in elephant tusks_IOL.pdf | 506.11 KB |
Durban - Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy said the department was using integrated approaches to address the increase in rhino poaching and horn trafficking. That was revealed in a parliamentary question from the IFP’s environmental affairs, forestry and fisheries spokesperson, Narend Singh. A total of 249 rhinos were poached for their horn in South Africa from January to the end of June this year and although the number was higher compared to last year, where 166 rhinos were killed, it was less than the 318 rhinos that were poached in 2019.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2021_09_How South Africa is tackling rhino poaching and rhino horn trafficking_IOL.pdf | 310.43 KB |
Durban - Rhino horns worth in excess of R230 million intercepted at the OR Tambo International Airport between July last year and February this year were being kept at a secure location, said Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) Barbara Creecy. She was responding to written parliamentary questions submitted by the DA’s David Bryant. He had asked about the whereabouts of the rhino horns and whether they had been destroyed.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2021_06_Seized trafficked rhino horns under lock and key_IOL.pdf | 392.21 KB |
"In 2020, we recorded a total of 31 rhinos poached compared to 52 in 2019, 81 in 2018, 55 in 2017, 66 in 2016 and 97 in 2015," Shifeta said. The minister added that by the same token, Namibia recorded a total of 11 elephants poached in 2020, 13 in 2019, 27 in 2018, 50 in 2017, 101 in 2016 and 49 in 2015. As for pangolin, eight live animals have been seized in 2020 as well as five full carcasses, 59 skins, five skin pieces and 924 scales, he added.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2021_02_Elevated measures set to address poaching in the country_Namibia Economist.pdf | 711.53 KB |
The artificial intelligence (AI) cameras installed in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park failed to detect poachers after four dehorned rhinos were found last week. The carcasses were found on different days and appeared to have been killed a few days earlier.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2020-11_Poachers evade KZN park s high_tech security and kill four rhinos for their horns_IOL.pdf | 204.57 KB |
The Director of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) Brigadier Peter Magosi has defended government’s decision to dehorn Botswana’s rhinos as an anti-poaching control measure. Magosi has said the dehorning of rhinos was the only way they could ensure protection of the animals from poachers.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
BOT_2020-07_Its better to show tourists a dehorned rhino than nothing at all_Magosi_Sunday Standard.pdf | 197.57 KB |