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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Joseph Nyalungu, popularly known as Big Joe, is accused of involvement in rhino poaching in Mpumalanga and Limpopo. The charges against him include possession of rhino horns, poaching, and money laundering.
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SA_2023_11_Bail application of alleged Limpopo rhino poaching kingpin postponed_SABC News.pdf | 332.53 KB |
The defence attorney in the case against a former police officer accused of being a rhino poaching kingpin has disputed that their client has 12 pending cases.
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SA_2023_10_Alleged rhino kingpins defence disputes charges against the accused_SABC News.pdf | 391.96 KB |
South Africa has lost 231 rhinos to poaching since the beginning of the year.
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SA_2023_09_231 rhinos lost to poaching in SA this year_ongoing concerns on World Rhino Day_SABC News.pdf | 208.12 KB |
As the globe observes World Rhino Day, South Africa has lost 231 rhinos to poaching since the beginning of the year.
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SA_2023_09_Researcher highlights continuous rhino onslaught in South Africa_SABC News.pdf | 135.58 KB |
As the international community marks World Rhino Day on Friday, South Africa and other parts of the African continent are still facing the challenge of rhino poaching. The International Rhino Foundation says poachers have shifted their focus from the larger rhino populations to smaller, and possibly more susceptible ones. In South Africa, poachers are focusing on smaller areas, like the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve, which has borne the brunt of South Africa’s rhino poaching deaths in the past year. While Namibia, home to the…
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SA_2023_09_Rhino poaching remains a challenge in SA and Africa_SABC News.pdf | 188.61 KB |
There are around 26 000 rhinos left in the world. 68% of those live in South Africa. By far the majority of them are Southern White Rhinos, which are particularly vulnerable to poaching, because most of them are found in the open Savannah of national parks, making them easy targets. There are four other remaining species of rhino. The Black Rhino, of which there are around 6000, is found in southern and east Africa. The other African species, the Northern White Rhino, is effectively extinct, as the two remaining are both female.
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SA_2023_09_Rhino Poaching_Will it ever end_SABC News.pdf | 199.08 KB |
In a bid to strengthen safety and curb poaching in the country's national parks, SANParks, has added a small surveillance aircraft to its anti-poaching arsenal at the Addo Elephant Park in the Eastern Cape. The aircraft was donated by mining giant Anglo American Platinum. The park says the small aircraft will be used to curb poaching and maintain biodiversity. A Senior Section Ranger at Addo Elephant National Park, Anban Padayachee, says hunting and abalone poaching is very rife in the park.
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SA_2023_09_SANParks adds small surveillance aircraft to its anti_poaching arsenal_SABC News.pdf | 201.12 KB |
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment says 231 rhinos have been killed thus far this year in South Africa. This figure is from 1 January to 30 June 2023.
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SA_2023_08_231 rhinos killed in South Africa since January_SABC News.pdf | 186.92 KB |
A third suspect has been arrested in Rustenburg, in the North West, for the theft of 51 rhino horns from the offices of the North West Parks and Tourism in Mahikeng last month. The SABC reported at the time that the alleged criminals evaded all security on the premises and took the keys to the safe, from which they stole the horns worth R9 million. Spokesperson for the Hawks in the province, Lieutenant Colonel Tinyiko Mathebula, says, "The suspect is due to appear in the Mahikeng Magistrates’ Court on Monday, where he will be facing a business burglary charge."
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SA_2023_07_Police arrest third suspect accused of stealing 51 rhino horns_SABC News_3.pdf | 349.38 KB |
The US Treasury Department and South Africa's National Treasury on Wednesday agreed to form a task force to combat illicit finance linked to the illegal wildlife trade, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. Speaking at the Dinokeng Game Reserve outside Pretoria, Yellen told South African officials that the new task force aims to boost information sharing between the two country's financial intelligence units and to strengthen controls to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
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SA_2023_01_Task force established to combat wildlife trafficking_SABC News_4.pdf | 174.98 KB |
A Police operation code name 'Clarion' last week arrested 127 illegal immigrants from neighbouring Zambia who were suspected of engaging in the illegal harvesting of protected wood species in the Zambezi region.
Namibia Police (Nampol), Zambezi regional Commander, Andreas Shilelo told Confidente the immigrants were charged under the Illegal Immigrant Act and given forty-eight hours to leave the country and were subsequently deported. "Most of them we arrested, where not found harvesting timber but we took
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NAM_2022_11_Illegal Timber harvesting plagues Zambezi region_Confidante.pdf | 224.39 KB |
Otamanzi constituency councilor, Johaness Iyambo has warned residents of his constituency to desist from hunting stray Game animals which has found way into their communal land as they search for water. This comes after a two-week open hunting season, for residents in the Otamanzi Constituency which borders the Etosha National Park to the East, where residents have been feasting on the stray animals.
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NAM_2022_10_Omusati residents warned against hunting stray animals_Confidante.pdf | 356.39 KB |
A carcass of a white bull rhino was discovered on the October 20 at a private farm in the Windhoek district. It is believed the rhino was poached between the October 16 and 20. According to a police report, investigations were carried out at the scene of the crime to which, "bullet fragments from the animal indicate the animal was killed for its horn," the police report reads. In a similar report a case of hunting of specially protected game has been opened at the Seeis police station in the Windhoek district.
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NAM_2022_10_Two Rhinos found dead and dehorned_Confidente.pdf | 284.46 KB |
While Africa is seeing a drop in the rate of rhinoceros poaching, Namibian wildlife authorities say they are seeing a surge in rhino killings in the southern African nation. Conservationists say poachers seeking rhino horns for Asian markets are targeting Namibia’s commercial farms. Save the Rhino Trust CEO Simson Uri Khob said there are reports that syndicates of rhino poachers from South Africa are operating in Namibia. He said poaching cases are rising, especially in Etosha National Park and commercial farms. "It's a problem," Khob said.
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NAM_2022_10_Cross border syndicates implicated in surge in rhino üoaching_Confidante.pdf | 481.11 KB |
Director of Intelligence at the Wildlife Justice Commission Sarah Stoner is calling for wildlife crime to be recognised as transnational crime and not simply as a conservation issue. According to Stoner, "Our analysis found that rhino horn is most often smuggled with no concealment at all so around 1/3 of horns that were seized in the last 10 years indicate there was no attempt to hide the contraband in the shipment.
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SA_2022_09_Calls for wildlife crime to be recognised as transnational crime_SABC News.pdf | 771.92 KB |
Some anti-poaching organizations are calling upon the justice system to strengthen punishment against those found guilty of rhino poaching and rhino horn trafficking. This comes after the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment recently released statistics indicating that rhino poaching incidents committed in the country within the first six months of the year have increased by 33% compared to last year, during the same period. Nature conservationists say the rhino is among the endangered species, not only in South Africa and the African continent but across the…
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SA_2021_08_Anti_poaching bodies call for stricter sentences for rhino poachers_SABC News.pdf | 1.58 MB |
Two suspects, aged 19 and 48, who were found allegedly in possession of 19 rhino horns, are expected to appear at the Nelspruit Magistrate’s court in Mpumalanga, on Thursday. The horns are estimated to have a value of R2.6 million.
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SA_2021_07_Two arrested with 19 rhino horns to appear in Mpumalanga court_SABC News.pdf | 1.09 MB |
Police spokesperson says police closely monitored the suspects' vehicle and followed them to a house in Malema village, were they found diving equipment and three bags with 320 abalone with the street value of R18 000. Six people have been arrested for allegedly being in possession of abalone at St Francis Bay in the Eastern Cape. This follows a tip-off to the police about suspected poachers.
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SA_2021_05_Six arrested for possession of abalone in Eastern Cape_SABC News.pdf | 766.07 KB |
According to the Combatting Wildlife Crime in Namibia Annual Report for 2020, rhino crimes accounted for most arrests during the past year, with 145 suspects having been detained. "A significant number of these were pre-emptive arrests, where suspects were caught before they could kill a rhino. This is not only a highly commendable law enforcement success, but also a very positive conservation outcome. Pre-emptive arrests have directly saved numerous rhinos and will allow the population to continue to multiply," the report stated.
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NAM_2021_04_Wildlife crime decreases in 2020_Confidente.pdf | 2.03 MB |
B2Gold Corp. is pleased to announce the launch of its Namibian Rhino Gold Bar campaign in North America to help support the conservation and protection of the critically endangered black rhinos, and the communitybased rhino rangers and trackers who protect the rhinos, in Namibia, Southern Africa.
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NAM_2020-07_B2Gold Announces the Launch of its Namibian Rhino Gold Bar Campaign.PDF | 1.06 MB |
The Namibian Police arrested a deputy director in the Ministry of Lands at its Gobabis sub-regional office for her role in the alleged illegal hunting of an oryx valued at N$6 000. Mclesia Mbaisa (49) who heads the Division of Land Reform was arrested alongside her brother Marvin Mbaisa (36) and Rudolf Katjiuanjo (35) following the illegal hunting of the wild animal at Heath Bell resettlement farm in the Gobabis district.
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NAM_2020_06_Deputy director_brother arrested for illegal hunting_Confidente Namibia.pdf | 666.93 KB |
Working with WWF in Namibia to raise awareness for the protection of rhinos, Ginger Mauney accompanied a team from Condé Nast China Traveler magazine to share Namibia’s conservation story and to forge a partnership for change that can help to stop the illegal trade in wildlife products.
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NAM_2020-01_Chinese actors campaign against poaching_Confidente Namibia.pdf | 322.49 KB |