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The three were arrested in Lagos in July 2021 following the interception by Nigerian Customs agents of 196 sacks of pangolin scales weighing 7,137.40kg, one sack of pangolin claws weighing 4.60kg and 29 sacks of elephant tusks weighing 870.4kg.

Wildlife officials have hailed the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) recent decision to appeal what it called the lenient sentences handed to two rhino poachers in May, as well as the jailing this week of one of the men in a separate case.

The national prosecuting authority (NPA) has reinstated charges and re-enrolled an eight-year-old case against known rhino poacher Gideon (aka Deon) van Deventer, after it emerged the original case had been quashed and struck from the roll under dubious circumstances. The state’s 2014 Bronkhorstspruit firearms case against Van Deventer was re-opened in June this year after a whistle-blower tipped off law enforcement authorities and court officials about a miscarriage of justice that occurred at the Bronkorstspruit magistrate’s court on 24 July 2015.

The Nigeria Customs Service, in collaboration with Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC), has intercepted 397.5 Kilogramme of pangolin scales and arrested 8 suspects in connection with the seizure.

Four succulent poachers have been sentenced to seven years imprisonment for trying to steal 14 endangered Halfmens (Pachypodium namaquanum) succulent plants within the |Ai|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park in the Northern Cape.

South Africa's diverse wildlife means it plays a "devastating role" as both source and transit country for wildlife trafficking. The most popular animal parts include rhino horn, abalone, pangolin and ivory, which is moved through South Africa to the East.

African rhinos endure a huge problem of poaching. The rhinos are sought by poachers, traffickers, international criminal groups and even tourists. On 15 July 2018, an internet search for "rhino poaching" showed over 48700 media references on the subject. People from Asia are the prime wildlife consumers. In China and Viet Nam mainly, the demand for rhino horn has gone beyond any level-headed imagination, fuelled by endless inspirations of local traditions and attitudes, a situation exacerbated by wrong and misinformed perceptions of wildlife products.

"In the last couple of weeks, we found in certain areas a marked increase in the number of snares and a zebra was just left to rot where it had died, caught up in the snare." "We need to ask people to walk regularly and look for the snares. Quite often, they will set the snares and then they don't return in time to see if the animal has been caught in the snare and the animal is just left to rot." The Msunduzi Municipality has also raised concern about the rise in poaching at the reserve in recent weeks.

Despite being 20 times smaller and having much lower rainfall, Richtersveld has more plant species than the country's famous Kruger national park. It is, says Van Wyk, "the most important succulent laboratory in the world". But it is this variety of rare succulents that draws the poachers. Many Richtersveld species are so specialised that they grow only in one valley or on one mountain slope. In extreme cases an entire species can be confined to an area smaller than a football pitch, so a poacher could render a species extinct in a morning.