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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Rhino populations in Kruger National Park continue to decline despite innovative strategies implemented to prevent rhino poaching. The latest population count, reported in the SANParks Annual Report 2022/2023, reveals that the total rhino population has declined by 16.2%, from an estimated 2,458 rhinos in 2021 to 2,060 in 2022.
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SA_2023_10_Kruger rhino population update_the losses continue_Africa Geographic.pdf | 1.07 MB |
Building on last year's donation of four Bat Hawk surveillance aircraft to South African National Parks (SANParks) to aid surveillance, conservation and anti-poaching efforts in the Kruger National Park, Anglo American Platinum this morning donated another Bat Hawk that will be going to SANParks' Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape. In addition, a Bat Hawk aircraft will be donated to Mapungubwe National Park, which is located on the border of South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
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SA_2023_09_SANParks records a 78 percent decrease in Rhino poaching_Gateway.pdf | 250.77 KB |
As the world returns to post-covid normality, so do its trade routes and the unfortunate consequence of increased wildlife trafficking, experts say.
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WORLD_2023_04_Wildlife trafficking could return to pre_pandemic numbers_Getaway.pdf | 449.22 KB |
A 23-year-old man, Rich Ricardo Chauke, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment after rangers apprehended him with a rifle and an axe in Kruger National Park.
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SA_2022_04_Poacher with rifle and axe in Kruger Park sentenced to prison_Getaway.pdf | 458.84 KB |
As Malawi registers a drop in ivory and rhino horn trafficking, it has noticed an increase in pangolin poaching with related arrests having tripled between 2019 and 2020.
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MAL_2022_03_Pangolin trafficking on the rise in Malawi_Getaway.pdf | 484.28 KB |
Despite back-breaking work from a dedicated and passionate SANParks team, Kruger National Park rhino populations have continued to plummet - as per the latest population count from 2020. Recently published research estimates that there are about 2,607 white rhinos remaining in the Kruger National Park, while black rhinos are estimated to number just 202. This represents a population decline of 75% for white rhinos since 2011 (from 10,621) and 51% for black rhino since 2013 (from 415).
A pregnant Temminck's pangolin was rescued from suspected poaching and handed over to the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital recently. The Hospital stated that she was 'retrieved from a community handover' through a collaborative effort between the African Pangolin Working Group, South African Police Service (APWG), Endangered Species and Stock Theft Unit, and the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism.
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SA_2021_07_Pregnant pangolin rescued from suspected poaching_safely released_Getaway.pdf | 912.52 KB |
Two rhino poachers were sentenced to 19 years imprisonment on Thursday, 24 June, after they were caught with two rhino horns, ammunition, and an axe just outside Kruger National Park around Komatipoort in 2019.
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SA_2021_06_Two rhino poachers sentenced to 19 years in prison_Getaway.pdf | 440.88 KB |
Botswana's recent upsurge in rhino poaching is reaching a crisis point. More than 100 rhinos have been poached in under two years from a population of less than 400. Yet, the government remains resolute in its denial of a growing catastrophe. Former Botswanan president Ian Khama recently announced on social media that over 120 rhinos have been poached in the past 18 months.
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BOT_2021_03_Rhino poaching in Botswana_is pride hampering prevention_Africa Geographic.pdf | 950.9 KB |
A mature female Temminck's pangolin was retrieved out of the illegal trade by the South African Police Service’s Endangered Species Unit on April 25 in the Alldays region of Limpopo Province. She was transported to a Polokwane veterinarian which is where the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital’s Dr Karin Lourens drove to assist with the stabilising and initial examination. During an abdominal ultrasound, it was discovered that Ally was pregnant!
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SA_2020-09_Rescued pangolin gives birth in Limpopo_Getaway.pdf | 542.81 KB |
166 rhinos have been poached during the first half of 2020, compared to 316 at the same time last year. Of the rhinos killed this year, nearly three-quarters happened before the lockdown. In fact, in the month of April, no rhinos were killed in the Intensive Protection Zone in Kruger for the first time in almost ten years.
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Africa Geographic_2020-08_Rhino poaching stats 2020_more shades of grey_Africa Geographic.pdf | 843.69 KB |
In South Africa, the COVID-19 pandemic and strict government-imposed lockdown have led to an unexpected consequence: a major decline in rhino poaching. More than 80% of African rhinos remaining in the world are in South Africa, making it the hotspot for rhino poaching. The number of rhinos killed for their horns has been slowly declining over recent years, but the pandemic and lockdown have quelled rhino poaching even more.
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SA_2020-07_Rhino poaching in South Africa declines during coronavirus lockdown_Pri_Org.pdf | 479.45 KB |
Most people understand that the poaching of rhinos is cruel and could, quite possibly, drive rhinos to extinction. But why the inordinate fuss about rhinos? Are they special enough from an ecological point of view, that ecosystems need them to be around? Of course, no species should go extinct due to man, and rhinos are iconic symbols and tourism draw-cards.
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Africa Geographic_2020-05_Why are rhinos important for ecosystems_Africa Geographic.pdf | 3.42 MB |
COVID-19 has brought the world to its knees and is believed to have been caused by the consumption of an endangered animal. Now, South African Government is proposing an amendment to the Meat Safety Act which expands the list of animals that may be legally consumed by humans.
The proposed amended list classifies animals for slaughter, consumption, import, export and sale. This list now includes many threatened species in South Africa including rhino, elephant and giraffe. It also includes undefined birds, reptiles and fish.
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SA_2020-05_Government aims to legalise rhino consumption_Getaway.pdf | 369.89 KB |
Guyanese finches are almost always smuggled in hair curlers from Guyana to New York, while pig-nosed turtles are trafficked in high amounts, declared as a marine species, and flown from a regional Indonesian airport to Jakarta before flying to China. The greatest variation in wildlife trafficking in air transport doesn’t necessarily occur between regions but between the species or wildlife products trafficked, the specific methods used with the routes taken by wildlife traffickers heavily dependent on wildlife type, says the Runway to Extinction report:…