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.
What was described as excellent cooperation between the Omaruru District Watch and the police resulted in two white rhinos being saved from poaching and four suspected poachers arrested.
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NAM_2016-03_Two rhinos saved four suspects arrested_The Namibian.pdf | 288.96 KB |
Depity fisheries minister Chief Samuel Ankama says the only way to combat poaching is by apprehending the end-users, who keep the market alive.
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NAM_2016-03_Arrest buyers of poached products_The Namibian.pdf | 208.97 KB |
Oxpeckers Associate Shi Yi set out to investigate Chinese links in Namibia’s poaching crisis, and ended up in the middle of a sting operation that nabbed a former policeman.
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Oxpeckers_Namibias secret ivory business.pdf | 265.83 KB |
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism projects to have spent over a billion dollars in anti-poaching operations by the end of this year since the operation started two years ago.
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NAM_2016-03_Poaching war to cost a billion_The Namibian.pdf | 249.89 KB |
Two men arrested by the Namibian Police Force (NamPol)'s Protected Resources Unit for the possession of rhino horns and abalone products at the beginning of this month, have been granted bail.
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NAM_2016-02_Men arrested with rhino horns_abalone granted bail_The Namibian.pdf | 544.38 KB |
The prosecutor general has bank accounts and six cars belonging to a Chinese citizen and a Namibian man facing charges of possessing and trying to export the shellfish abalone from Namibia in her sights.
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NAM_2016-02_Poca assets order against two abalone accused_The Namibian.pdf | 294.61 KB |
In 1963, the then South African administration proclaimed the entire Western Caprivi as a nature park, by far the earliest nature conservation area in northern Namibia.
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NAM_2016-02_A militarised nature park_The Namibian.pdf | 1.14 MB |
The discovery of close to 100 kilogrammes of dried abalone and more than a kilogramme of rhino horn pieces in Windhoek this week landed a Chinese citizen and a Namibian man in the dock in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court yesterday.
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NAM_2016-02_Two charged over rhino horn and abalone_The Namibian.pdf | 508.19 KB |
THE Namibian government has made great strides in combating the poaching of endangered animals in recent months, the minister of environment and tourism (MET), Pohamba Shifeta, has said.
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NAM_2016-01_Nam makes big strides in combating poaching Shifeta_The Namibian.pdf | 746.42 KB |
Four more rhino carcasses were found at Grootberg Lodge in Kunene region in late December last year.
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NAM_2016-01_Rhino poaching toll at 80_The Namibian.pdf | 974.5 KB |
A Chinese businessman was sentenced to 10 years in prison or alternatively pay N$100 000 for the illegal possession of protected wildlife specimen in the Opuwo magistrate court on Monday.
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NAM_2015-12_Chinese man gets 10_year prison sentence for rhino horn possession_The Namibian.pdf | 1003.14 KB |
Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta says he is not aware of any ministers or former members of parliament involved in poaching. Meanwhile, police Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga says he cannot deny that ministers or members of parliament were involved in poaching, but he wanted to know who they are so he can lay his hands on them. The minister and the police chief were reacting to reports in the Namibian Sun that NamRights executive director Phil ya Nangoloh had allegedly submitted a report to Ndeitunga in which political leaders are accused of involvement in…
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NAM_2015-12_Shifeta unaware of ministers who poach_The Namibian.pdf | 462.12 KB |
The trial of four Chinese citizens accused of having tried to smuggle two suitcases containing rhino horns out of Namibia in March last year is scheduled to continue in the Windhoek Regional Court next month.
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NAM_2015-12_Rhino horn trial moves on to defence case_The Namibian.pdf | 576.98 KB |
Chinese journalist Shi Yi has been following the trial of four alleged rhino horn traffickers in Namibia. She paid a visit to their home villages in China to investigate their backgrounds
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Oxpeckers_Who are Namibias Chinese smugglers.pdf | 244.36 KB |
The killing of rhinoceroses in the supposed safety of Etosha National Park is continuing, despite intensified efforts to clamp down on poaching in Namibia. The carcasses of another two black rhinos that had been killed for their horns were found in the south-western part of Etosha National Park early last week, a police spokesperson, chief inspector Kauna Shikwambi, confirmed on Friday. Shikwambi said both carcasses were found in the area between the Otjovasando air strip and Renostervlei in the far western part of Etosha. The horns of both animals had been removed.
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NAM_2015-11_Rhino slaughter continues_The Namibian.pdf | 209.33 KB |
At one of Hanoi's priciest restaurants, a group of Vietnamese businessmen meet their new American partners to celebrate their latest venture. “A toast!” someone exclaims.
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NAM_2015-11_Pressuring the Poachers_The Namibian.pdf | 363.91 KB |
Court evidence reveals the typical methdology deployed by one of five organised crime syndicates believed to be active in Namibian wildlife trafficking, reports John Grobler.
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Oxpeckers_Inner workings of a Chinese poaching syndicate.pdf | 1.68 MB |
Aron Uiseb must have been a happy man when Omaruru magistrate Abel Sankwasa fined him N$250 which was wholly suspended for three years, after he pleaded guilty to poaching a leopard at Ai Aiba lodge near Omauru a year ago. The Namibian understands a leopard trophy is worth between N$50 000 and N$90 000.
Not only did Uiseb escape paying N$250 if he is not convicted of the same offence in the next three years, the N$15 000 he deposited as bail will be returned to him.
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NAM_2015-10_Leopard poacher goes scot free_The Namibian.pdf | 376.23 KB |
Details about the origins of a rhino poaching syndicate and their modus operandi are emerging in a Namibian court case. By Oxpeckers Reporters in Windhoek.
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Oxpeckers_Chinese rhino poaching suspects in court.pdf | 2.53 MB |
Ecotourism plans for a community-owned game reserve bordering the Kruger National Park are being scuppered by political patronage and the ‘rule book’ in Pretoria. Story and photos by Michelle Nel.
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Oxpeckers_Chief row thwarts conservation dream.pdf | 791.2 KB |
The police anti-poaching unit has since June this year arrested 48 people for alleged rhino poaching. About 22 of those arrested appeared in the Okahao Magistrate's Court in Omusati Region last month, while an unspecified number of suspects were released, pending further police investigations.
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NAM_2015-08_48 arrested over rhino poaching since June_The Namibian.pdf | 192.18 KB |
The four Chinese men accused of having tried to smuggle a hoard of rhino horns out of Namibia in March last year is due to continue in the Windhoek Regional Court in September.
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NAM_2015-08_Rhino contraband trial continues next month_The Namibian.pdf | 261.57 KB |
One of the Chinese men accused of trying to smuggle 14 rhino horns out of Namibia in March last year admitted yesterday that he knew he was carrying controlled wildlife products in two suitcases which he was planning to take to China.
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NAM_2015-07_Chinese man admits smuggling rhino horns_Namibian.pdf | 543.73 KB |
A 10-month-long investigation by John Grobler uncovers the political and commercial agendas driving the world’s largest black rhino population towards extinction.
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Oxpeckers_Caught in the crossfire_how cattle and Chinese mining interests are killing off Namibia.pdf | 759.26 KB |
International tourism to Africa reached record levels in 2013, with 56 million tourists bringing in N$410 billion. Significantly, 80% of them came to see the continent's wildlife. This valuable economic injection could increase by 10% a year – provided poachers don't wipe out the iconic species that safari goers travel here to see.
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NAM_2015-07_How poachers kill jobs_The Namibian.pdf | 425.1 KB |
The Tourism minister has accused some traditional leaders and businesspeople of being used as middlemen by poaching syndicates.
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NAM_2015-07_Poaching syndicates use locals_The Namibian.pdf | 687.89 KB |
Government yesterday condemned the random shooting of Namibian citizens suspected of being poachers at the Botswana border, saying the authorities in that country are too quick to pull the trigger.
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NAM_2015-07_Government condemns Botswana for shooting Namibians_The Namibian.pdf | 290.5 KB |
Yet another black rhino was poached in the Omatendeka Conservancy in Southern Kunene over the weekend, bringing the total number of poached rhinos in the country to 69 this year. The rhino is the fifth to be poached in the same area within a couple of months. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism confirmed yesterday that five people were arrested in connection with the incident after they were discovered with two rhino horns in their possession.
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NAM_2015-06_Rhino carcass discovered at Omatendeka Conservancy_The Namibian.pdf | 222.79 KB |
Five Namibian men were arrested on Saturday afternoon in the Kunene Region after they were found with a freshly sawn off black rhinoceros horn and a rifle, allegedly used to shoot the rhino. The five appeared before Magistrate Leena Iyambo at Opuwo on Monday afternoon.
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NAM_2015-06_Five Namibians arrested with rhino horn in Kunene_The Namibian.pdf | 387.08 KB |
In a move to control rhino poaching, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism started constructing a proper boundary fence to protect animals in the Etosha National Park. The fencing is expected to cost an estimated N$700 000 per kilometre. Etosha measures 824 kilometres, and the ministry would need about N$576 million to fence it all. The ministry, however, does not have enough funds for the project and has requested an additional N$167 million during this financial year. It was allocated about N$643 million in the 2015/2016 national budget.
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NAM_2015-06_Fencing Etosha to prevent poaching_The Namibian.pdf | 436.57 KB |
The Chinese Embassy in Windhoek, through its office of the director of political affairs, Wang Xuguang (Tony), responded to a request by Nampa on the Embassy's stance after another Chinese national appeared in court for alleged rhinoceros horn smuggling.
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NAM_2015-06_Chinese Embassy on rhino horn case-The Namibian.pdf | 317.56 KB |
A Chinese, who police believe to be the 'kingpin' in one of Namibia's biggest rhino horn smuggling cases, was denied bail by the Windhoek Magistrate's Court in Katutura yesterday. Wang Hui (40), who was remanded in custody at the Windhoek Correctional Facility, had his case transferred to the Regional Court where he is expected to appear on 25 June.
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NAM_2015-06_No bail for Chinese linked to rhino horns_The Namibian.pdf | 217.13 KB |
Ninety-five black rhinos and eight white rhinos have been poached in Namibia since 2005, the ministry of environment and tourism revealed yesterday. Minister of environment Pohamba Shifeta said this, when he revealed the outcome of tests conducted on the latest rhino and elephant carcasses discovered since 2014.
Shifeta said over the last 10 years, 294 black rhinos died of natural causes, while 95 others were poached and seven others were killed for trophy hunting.
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NAM_2015-09_103 rhinos poached in the last 10 years_The Namibian.pdf | 222.78 KB |
Poachers should be ashamed of themselves for killing innocent animals, said deputy minister of environment and tourism Tommy Nambahu. Just a week ago, Nambahu explained that the ministry was aware that local people are being used in the poaching of elephants and rhinos. "Shame on them for doing what they are doing to innocent animals. I have never heard of a rhino destroying a mahangu field or killing anyone. Why must it be killed because someone wants its parts?" he asked.
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NAM_2015-05_Nambahu shames poachers_The Namibian.pdf | 456.78 KB |
The three Chinese men accused of trying to smuggle 14 rhinoceros horns out of Namibia in March last year could be joined in the dock by a compatriot, after another suspect was arrested in connection with their case this week. The fourth suspect to be arrested about the alleged attempt to smuggle rhino horns and a leopard skin out of Namibia on 24 March last year is a 40-year-old Chinese resident of Otjiwarongo, Wang Hui, who was apprehended in Windhoek on Monday evening.
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NAM_2015-05_Fourth Chinese charged over rhino horns_The Namibian.pdf | 507.01 KB |
Deputy minister of environment and tourism Tommy Nambahu says his ministry is aware that local people are being used in the poaching of elephants and rhinos. He said this during a sponsorship handover by the Environmental Investment Fund (EIF) of Namibia to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, and the wildlife crime prevention unit of the Namibian police force yesterday.
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NAM_2015-05_Locals are being used to poach_Nambahu_The Namibian.pdf | 216.69 KB |
The Namibian police are investigating a case of illegal hunting of protected game, after two white rhinoceroses were found dead at the weekend. The rhino carcasses were found at Farm Okamahoro, situated approximately 30 kilometres west of Okahandja in the Otjozondjupa region. The game farm is a privately owned commercial entity, farming with game like rhinos.
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NAM_2015-05_Two white rhinos killed_The Namibian.pdf | 209.47 KB |
Last year Namibia lost 24 rhinos to poaching. For the first four months of this year, 60 rhino carcasses have already been found. If that is not a crisis, what is?
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NAM_2015-05_Namibia We Have A Crisis_The Namibian.pdf | 349.37 KB |
The threat looming over Namibia's rhinoceros population is even bigger than previously thought, with 38 rhino carcasses having been discovered in the Etosha National Park so far this year. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism announced in a media statement on Friday that another 31 rhino carcasses have been found in the Etosha National Park since 8 April.
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NAM_2015-04_Shock spike in Etosha rhino deaths_The Namibian.pdf | 297.8 KB |
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) said on Friday that a total of 31 rhino carcasses were discovered in the Etosha National Park during the course of last week. Most of the carcasses were found in the western part of Etosha.
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NAM_2015-04_More than 30 rhino carcasses discovered in Etosha last week_The Namibian.pdf | 234.71 KB |
An independent investigator found no evidence of suspicions of any of the Save the Rhino Trust Namibia (SRT) staff being involved in poaching, according to an official SRT statement released on Wednesday. Last December the SRT launched an internal investigation in response to newspaper reports that alleged that its staff was involved in rhino poaching in the Kunene region.
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NAM_2015-04_Rhino trust staff not involved in poaching_The Namibian.pdf | 510.02 KB |
Namibia continues losing rhinoceroses and elephants to the greed of poachers, with seven carcasses of poached rhinos having been discovered in the Etosha National Park so far this year. The discovery of the carcasses of seven poached rhinos in the Etosha National Park since the start of this year brings the number of rhinos killed by poachers in Namibia's premier wildlife refuge since October last year up to 11, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Simeon Negumbo, announced in a media statement on Friday.
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NAM_2015-04_Etosha rhino losses rise to 11_The Namibian.pdf | 237.23 KB |
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Oxpeckers_Namibias national soccer medic linked to rhino poaching and murder.pdf | 1.28 MB |
Sensational disclosures are the stuff of journalism. Good journalism however, requires that these disclosures are accurate and the interpretation of the facts is rational and reasonable. A recent front page lead "Wildlife staff probed in Kunene rhino poaching" requires a response.
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NAM_2015-02_Rhino poaching in the Kunene_a field perspective_The Namibian.pdf | 438.18 KB |
The Save the Rhino Trust (SRT), which has been monitoring Namibia's desert-adapted rhinos since 1983, confirmed an internal investigation and announced that Otjiwarongo veterinarian Dr Axel Hartman has assumed the position of chief operating officer at the NGO as of this month.
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NAM_2015-02_Rhino trust investigates poaching_The Namibian.pdf | 313.41 KB |
The Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) has launched an internal investigation after it was presented with a letter in mid-December outlining possible collusion between some staff members and poachers who have killed at least 18 critically endangered Kunene black rhinos since late 2012. The crisis at the SRT is however just part of a larger one in anti-poaching law enforcement and natural resource management in the so-called “Big Three” communal conservancies - Palmwag, Abenab and Sesfontein - in southern Kunene.
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NAM_2015-01_Wildlife staff probed in Kunene rhino poaching_The Namibian.pdf | 881.87 KB |
The chairperson of 'Save The Rhino Trust' in Namibia (SRT), Dudu Murorua says the organisation will intensify its operations and shift its future focus from monitoring to adopting a more proactive approach for the extensive protection of rhinos.
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NAM_2015-01_Protection needed for rhinos in Kunene_ The Namibian.pdf | 281.29 KB |
The Namibian Police Force (NamPol) in the Kunene Region is investigating a case of rhino poaching after a cow and calf were found dead in the top Barab Plamwag Concession towards Mbakondja camel camp.
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NAM_2014-12_Another rhino cow and calf poached in Kunene_The Namibian.pdf | 495.95 KB |
Ben Simasiku, a 31-year-old suspected ivory smuggler, has been arrested in Zambia after the first-ever Interpol public appeal, dubbed to track down nine environmental fugitives.
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NAM_2014-12_Most wanted environmental fugitives list leads to arrest of ivory suspect_The Namibian.pdf | 635.15 KB |
The three Chinese men accused of trying to smuggle 14 rhino horns out of Namibia in March this year will have to stand trial on three main charges in the Windhoek Regional Court, the prosecutor general has decided.
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NAM_2014-12_Rhino horn case sent to Regional Court_The Namibian.pdf | 274.12 KB |