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.
They might be an awesome sight to see from a safe distance on safari as they lumber around with their big, lopping ears and long trunks, but for those who live side by side with elephants, these mammals can quickly become a menace. Elephants’ numbers in African countries have dwindled hugely in the past. Conservation efforts since the 1980s, however, have seen populations recover somewhat. In Southern African countries, where about half of the African elephant population resides, their higher numbers mean they are starting to come into conflict with humans.
The number of endangered rhinos poached in Namibia last year was the highest on record and almost twice as many as the year before, officials say. A total of 87 rhinos were killed compared with 45 in 2021, official government data show. Most were poached in Etosha, Namibia's biggest national park, officials say. Rhino numbers in Africa have dropped significantly in recent decades to feed demand for rhino horn in China and Vietnam.
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NAM_2023_07_Namibia reports record level of rhino poaching_Al Jazeera.pdf | 215.55 KB |
During the operation, they found a slaughtered serval cat, a porcupine, a blesbuck and ostrich as well as a substantial amount of dagga hidden in different workers' houses and surrounding locations.
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SA_2023_06_3 arrested after discovery of poached animal parts in Gauteng_Network News.pdf | 478.06 KB |
The tusks had a street value of more than Sh8 million, officials said In Summary: Despite a ban on the international trade in ivory, African elephants are still being poached in large numbers; As part of efforts to stop the crime, Kenya has started using high-tech surveillance equipment including drones to track poaching gangs. Two men including a Tanzanian national were arrested while transporting 81.7 kilograms of elephant tusks in Mukaa area, Makueni County.
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KEN_2023_05_Tanzanian among 2 arrested with 81 kilos of elephant tusks in Makueni_The Star.pdf | 366.1 KB |
Bulk shipments by sea accounted for most of the illegal wildlife parts seized by authorities around the world in 2022. The data, from U.S.-based nonprofit C4ADS, also show that seizures of elephant ivory, rhino horn and pangolin scales haven’t yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. However, the decline isn’t uniform across all countries, with China's late reopening from the pandemic this year indicating there might be an increase in trafficking in 2023, especially of ivory. C4ADS has called on law enforcement officials to focus on investigating…
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WORLD_2023_03_Wildlife trafficking gradually returns after pandemic lull_mostly by sea_Mongaby.pdf | 868.66 KB |
The number of endangered rhinos poached in Namibia reached an all-time high last year after 87 animals were killed compared with 45 in 2021, official government data has shown. Africa's rhino population has been decimated over the decades to feed the demand for rhino horn, which, despite being made of the same material as rhino hair and fingernails, is prized in East Asia as a supposed medicine and as jewellery.
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NAM_2023_01_Rhino poaching surges 93 percent in Namibia_Aljazeera.pdf | 284.55 KB |
Rhino poaching is driven by the demand for rhino horn in Asian countries. In Summary: They were arrested in September last year with a firearm and ammunition at a game farm with the aim of slaughtering rhinos to extract their horns for commercial purposes. This is the second time that a hunter of a protected species has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.
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MOZ_2022_11_Mozambicans jailed for 30 years for rhino hunting_The Star.pdf | 425.34 KB |
Poaching has more than doubled this year in South Africa’s Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, the birthplace of white rhino conservation. Conservationists say poaching syndicates have turned their attention to this and other parks in KwaZulu-Natal province because rhino numbers in Kruger National Park, the previous epicenter of rhino poaching, have been drastically reduced, and private reserves around Kruger are dehorning their animals. Hluhluwe-Imfolozi is a very challenging game reserve for anti-poaching patrols to defend, exacerbated by leadership issues in Ezemvelo, the…
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SA_2022_10_Poaching surges in the birthplace of white rhino conservation_Mongabay.pdf | 11.44 MB |
Poisons like cyanide can be a deadly weapon for poachers, allowing them to kill dozens of animals without needing access to firearms or the backing of criminal syndicates. Wildlife poisoning is on the rise across Africa, targeting elephants as well as pushing endangered vultures toward extinction. A new study says Zimbabwe, which a decade ago witnessed some of the deadliest mass poisonings of elephants, has developed a sound basis for curbing poisonings by tightening laws to criminalize intent to use poison to kill wildlife.
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ZIM_2022_09_As poachers poison wildlife Zimbabwe finds an antidote in tougher laws_Mongaby.pdf | 930.59 KB |
Namibia is experiencing a surge in poaching, with the number of poached rhinoceros rising to 48 this year, Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said Wednesday. In a statement, Muyunda said of the poached rhinoceros, 32 were black rhinoceros and 16 were white rhinoceros.
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NAM_Rhinoceros poaching surges in Namibia_The Star.pdf | 348.34 KB |
DCI detectives based at the Serious Crimes Unit on Tuesday arrested three suspects in Kinango, Kwale County, after being found in possession of a male pangolin.
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NIG_2022_08_DCI arrests 3 suspects found in possession of pangolin in Kwale_The Star.pdf | 505.61 KB |
Kwale police have arrested two men who were illegally in possession of a pangolin. The two were nabbed at Malomani area in Samburu sub-county.
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KEN_2022_06_Kwale police arrest two illegal pangolin hunters_The Star.pdf | 645.82 KB |
In late June 2002, the container ship MOL Independence docked at a Singapore port after a voyage of almost a month from Durban in South Africa. On board was a consignment which had been on a far longer journey. Beginning in an industrial area on the outskirts of Lilongwe, the capital of landlocked Malawi in southern Africa, the container was taken by road to the port of Beira in neighboring Mozambique and loaded onto a feeder vessel to Durban. According to the Bill of Lading, its contents were stone sculptures.
A three-year investigation has led authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo to 2 metric tons of ivory hidden in a stash house in the southern city of Lubumbashi. The tusks are valued at $6 million on the international market and estimated to have come from more than 150 elephants. The three people arrested in the May 14 raid are allegedly members of a major wildlife trafficking ring in the Southern African region.
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DRC_2022_05_Ivory from at least 150 poached elephants seized in the DRC raid_Mongabay.pdf | 397.68 KB |
The charge sheet says the tusks weighed three kilograms, worth Sh300,000.
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KEN_2022_02_Man in court for trying to sell Sh300 000 tusks to cops_The Star.pdf | 779.39 KB |
Two suspected poachers were on Thursday arrested in Korinda junction in Busia county. Police acted on a tip-off from members of the public and nabbed the two men, 60-year-old Mohamed Abbas and a 70-year-old Paul Wafula Njoka. The suspects were using a motorbike with registration number KMEV721N in their operation. The police recovered the haul after conducting a search. They took them as exhibits together with the motorbike. The two suspects were taken to Busia Police station as they wait to be arraigned to answer to charges.
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KEN_2022_01_Two suspected poachers arrested_14 pieces of ivory recovered_The Star.pdf | 469.51 KB |
A rhino conservationist has turned to the world of non-fungible tokens to help fund efforts to keep poachers at bay.
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SA_2021_11_Can NFTs help save rhinos from poachers_Aljazeera.pdf | 734.48 KB |
At the peak of the rhino poaching war in South Africa in 2015 and 2016, poachers slaughtered nearly three rhinos a day. Although that rate has declined, the numbers are still disheartening and unsustainable, with poachers killing at least one rhino every day. Some conservationists have looked to drones as a potentially powerful tool in anti-poaching efforts, with the technology continuing to evolve. But experts say it isn’t at the level yet where it can meet the challenge, and that while it can be helpful, conservation efforts must continue to engage and educate local…
Kenya Wildlife Service wardens in Laikipia on Wednesday evening arrested four suspected poachers and recovered four pieces of elephant ivories weighing 76 kilogrammes.
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KEN_2021_10_Four suspected poachers arrested with 76kg ivory_The Star.pdf | 395.1 KB |
One of the world's most infamous ivory traffickers will remain in prison in Tanzania after an appeal judge sent her case back to a lower court. The high court accepted there were anomalies in the original written judgment against Yang Fenglan, but declined her attorney's application for her release. Between 2009 and 2014, poachers reduced Tanzania’s elephant population by 60%, according to a government census. In response, Tanzania developed a strategy of intelligence-led investigations.
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TAN_2021_06_Tanzanias Ivory Queen denied release after appeal_Mongaby.pdf | 471.78 KB |
Once known as the world's elephant killing fields, Tanzania appears to have halted the worst ivory poaching within its borders, making more than 2,300 arrests of poachers and traffickers over five years.
At least five white rhinos were killed and dehorned on different occasions in November, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in Botswana confirmed Thursday.
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BOT_2020-12_Five white rhinos killed by poachers in November in Botswana_The Star.pdf | 79.96 KB |
Windhoek says intensified intelligence operations by authorities and tougher sentences for poachers led to the drop. Rhino poaching fell 63 percent year-on-year in Namibia, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism has said citing intensified intelligence operations by authorities and tougher sentences and fines for poachers. Elephant poaching, which occurs to a lesser extent, also decreased with two incidents reported this year compared with 13 in 2019, the ministry said.
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NAM_2020-08_ Rhino poaching falls by more than 60 percent_News_Al Jazeera.pdf | 191.34 KB |
As we now know, Botswana is home to a third of Africa's declining elephant population. But, over the last two months, 350 elephant carcasses have been spotted in the Okavango Delta since the start of May. It is a serious worry that over 350 elephants have died with no clear reason and indeed a conservation disaster.
The world looks at this mysterious deaths and needs to know the real cause of the mass loss of elephants, and what should be done to stop this unnatural disaster, one thing the deaths are unrelated to drought.
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BOT_2020-07_The stronghold for Africass elephants is under certain threat_The Star.pdf | 246.64 KB |
The coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic has created a profound crisis for conservation efforts in eastern and southern Africa as a result of the sudden cessation of all international travel in a region where nature-based tourism and conservation are closely interdependent. The region’s unique wildlife populations and other natural assets — centered on spectacular landscapes such as the Serengeti and Okavango — underpin a multi-billion dollar 'wildlife…
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Mongaby_2020-05_From crisis to solutions for communities and African conservation_Mongaby.pdf | 1.42 MB |