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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The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has recorded 28 cases of rhino poaching in Namibia this year so far. Out of these 28 cases, 19 rhinos were poached in the Etosha National Park, and 10 carcasses of the animals were discovered during dehorning operations in March. The Ministry’s spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda, has expressed concern about the poaching situation in the Etosha National Park, which is a flagship tourist attraction in Namibia. The park has a high number of rhinos and other wildlife species.
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NAM_2024_04_Security cluster to meet after 28 rhino were poached this year_Windhoek Observer.pdf | 198.8 KB |
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism has raised alarm over the serious threat facing pangolins in Namibia. According to Romeo Muyunda, the Ministry's spokesperson, there has been a notable increase in pangolin trafficking cases from September to November this year, leading to a significant concern for the survival of this species. Muyunda disclosed that during this period, authorities have confiscated a total of 18 pangolin skins, 12 live pangolins, and 146 pangolin scales. This has resulted in 23 registered cases and the apprehension of 38 suspects.
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NAM_2023_12_Pangolins under serious threat_Environment Ministry observes_Windhoek Observer.pdf | 253.76 KB |
Kruger National Park, the world's greatest refuge for rhinos, is losing them to poaching faster than they're being born. The park's last rhino may already be alive. It's time to declare an emergency.
Rhino poachers entering Kruger National Park are increasingly being run down by packs of unleashed hunting hounds in full cry, followed by a chopper tracking their hi-tech GPS collars. As the baying pack approaches, the poacher has no idea the dogs are trained to not attack. They won't bite him (there are legal implications), but if he tries to harm the dogs, rangers will fire from the chopper. The poachers know this and no dog has yet
been lost to a poacher’s bullet.
Field rangers at the Tygerberg Nature Reserve managed to apprehend poachers who were illegally removing bulbs and indigenous plants from one of the hiking trails. On Tuesday, 12 July 2022, the Tygerberg Nature Reserve staff were alerted by a visitor to three individuals who seemed to be removing plants from one of the hiking trails.
The Kruger National Park has a major rhino-poaching crisis, but that's just one of many mounting problems - and it's extremely worrying.
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…
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NAM_2021_10_Poaching_ 369 arrests in nine months_The Namibian.pdf | 705.31 KB |
Wild animals are back. Kangaroos bounding through the streets of Melbourne, elephant herds passing through Indian villages, jackals in Johannesburg, leopards in Mumbai, wild boar in Bergamo and Verreaux eagles catching thermals above a silent Cape Town. And of course, inevitable cartoons of humans in surgical masks staring forlornly at animals playing on the sidewalk. Is lockdown good news for creatures - or for poachers?
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SA_2020-05_How the Coronavirus changes poaching strategies_Daily Maverick.pdf | 457.64 KB |