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Two rhino poachers have been sentenced to an effective 19 years' imprisonment for a 2019 poaching incident in the Kruger National Park. The Regional Court in Skukuza in Mpumalanga sentenced Micheal Chauke, 57, and Americo Mathonsi, 59, on Thursday. The men were found to have killed two rhinos on 22 May 2019, said police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli.

A total of 320 cases of crimes involving pangolins have been recorded in the last five years since 2017, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda said in a statement when the country celebrated World Pangolin Day over the past weekend. Muyunda said the figures include 43 in 2017; 62 in 2018; 96 in 2019; 59 in 2020 and 60 in 2021.

A police sting operation has led to the arrest of two Gauteng men who allegedly tried to sell a lion's head in the North West. The men were arrested after a police agent intercepted their plan. They were allegedly looking for a traditional healer to buy the animal's head for R350 000.

Poachers have turned to snare trapping to capture animals in the Kruger National Park, including some endangered species, and use poisoned carcases to lure them. Many of the trapped animals die and their carcasses rot. Rangers and other officials have been combing through the 19 485 km² Kruger National Park, which houses the country's Big Five, in search of injured and trapped animals. Poachers have targeted almost all sections of the park. Wild dogs, lions and small antelopes are some of the animals that have been trapped.

A wildlife nature reserve covering Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Angola will undertake a loose elephant census next year at the cost of $3 million. The aerial survey by the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) directorate will help in managing elephants that freely roam across member states. "The elephant population of KAZA represents more than 50% of the remaining savanna elephants (Loxodonta Africana) found in Africa, a species recently listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as globally endangered.

Airlink, the privately owned Southern African regional airline, will implement a company-wide programme involving training, new processes and supply chain interventions to identify and combat illicit wildlife trade. The illegal wildlife trade is valued between USD $50 to 150 billion (approximately between ZAR730 billion - ZAR 2,19 trillion at current exchange rates) per year and is one of the five most lucrative global crimes. Illegal killing and trading of wild animals is a global crisis, with species being hunted to extinction for their horns, skins and teeth.

Five men have been arrested in the Western Cape in connection with the illegal possession of more than 5 600 succulents. The arrests were the result of an integrated operation between the police,  Malmesbury Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit and Cape Nature, said police spokesperson Sergeant Luqmaan Adams on Thursday. "The suspects were arrested after they were stopped and searched on the N7 close to Vanrhynsdorp.

Three men accused of rhino poaching have each been sentenced to an effective 35 years in jail. They were found in possession of rhino horn valued at R1.5 million. The accused were found to have killed three female rhinos in 2018.

Poaching incidents in the country continues to decline, with only 14 rhinos and 5 elephants having been killed so far this year, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism indicated this week. According to statistics from the ministry’s spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda said, seven white rhinos plus one black rhino were poached from private farms, while six black rhinos were poached from the Etosha National Park. The five elephants poached were from the Zambezi, Kavango East and Otjozondjupa regions, Muyunda added.

Free State police are on the hunt for poachers who killed and dehorned two white rhinos and injured a third at a farm in Steynsrus. Police spokesperson Brigadier Motantsi Makhele said a case of rhino poaching was registered in terms of Section 57 of the Bioversity Act 10 of 2004 "after two rhino bulls were killed and one injured in Geduldfontein Farm". "The value of the two killed rhino bulls is R800 000," Makhele added.

"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.

The latest wildlife crime statistics indicate that four rhinos and one elephant have been poached to date, as law enforcement operations continue to bag perpetrators, an official said this week. From the beginning of June, law enforcement agencies have made significant arrests of wildlife criminals involving products of high valued species across the country, the Ministry of Environment spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda said in an update.

Namibia has recorded a drastic drop in poaching cases with only two rhinos poached so far this year compared to 13 poaching cases recorded at the same period last year, the Ministryof Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda said this week.

Namibians continue to make up over 90% of arrested wildlife crime suspects in the country, according to the Combatting Wildlife Crime in Namibia Annual Report 2020 released last week. According to the report, although wildlife crime is ultimately driven by demand in consumer countries, locals seem to be the bulk of the arrests.

Two men allegedly desperately trying to find a buyer for a rhino horn appeared in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate's Court on Monday. Jeremy Perring, 36, and Keanon Tereblanche, 27, were arrested at a beachfront restaurant in possession of a rhino horn on Friday. The two were each released on R3 000 bail and the case has been postponed to 29 April.

"In 2020, we recorded a total of 31 rhinos poached compared to 52 in 2019, 81 in 2018, 55 in 2017, 66 in 2016 and 97 in 2015," Shifeta said. The minister added that by the same token, Namibia recorded a total of 11 elephants poached in 2020, 13 in 2019, 27 in 2018, 50 in 2017, 101 in 2016 and 49 in 2015. As for pangolin, eight live animals have been seized in 2020 as well as five full carcasses, 59 skins, five skin pieces and 924 scales, he added.

The government is in the process of establishing a special operations unit that will include the use of horses to help curb poaching, an ocial said this week. According to Manie le Roux, who coordinates the K9 unit at the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, the mounted unit, which will have 12 horses and 14 members, will work together with the canine unit. "Anti-poaching efforts need a combination of support," he said. "We want to add horses patrol to the air, vehicle and dog patrols."

The Thirty Namibia Dollar banknote that was issued by the Bank of Namibia during the lockdown to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Independence, has proven so popular with collectors that a recent auction of only a few notes garnered proceeds of N$480,000.

At a time when tourism income has evaporated, the demand on wildlife protection has only increased. Helping to fill this gap is local gold major, B2Gold who donated a new Land Cruiser to Save the Rhino Trust.

Early in October, four ranger from Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) will show the rest of the world what it takes to be out in the wild, day in day out, tracking rhinos, deterring poachers, and earning an income for them and their families.

The country has been robbed of 17 rhinos and two elephants through poaching activities since the January, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism said this week.

It is far easier to track a pangolin in the bush than tracking a criminal who catches them in the wild and sell them to oriental traffickers but this is exactly what happened recently. With the help of US law enforcement, the Namibian Police was able to track and capture four suspected pangolin poachers. This week, the US Embassy in Windhoek said the four were arrested after the US Embassy in Pretoria got wind of a criminal deal in pangolins that was just about to happen. This information was relayed to the local embassy where officials immediately contacted the Namibian…

Save the Rhino Trust has just received more than one million dollars in funding from the Debmarine-Namdeb Foundation. This diamond money will be used to support physical protection of rhinos in the wild, but also to amplify a reading programme for learners in the Kunene region.

Canadian gold miner, B2Gold on Wednesday announced the launch of its Namibian Rhino Gold Bar campaign in North America to support the conservation and protection of the critically endangered black rhinos.

One of the pillars in the fight against poaching, the K-9 unit of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, this week received a customised Land Cruiser to make deployment of the tracker dogs faster.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism’s anti poaching campaign specifically the Dog Unit, was this week beefed up when they received a Toyota Land Cruiser Double CAB V8 from Standard Bank as well as donations from other organisations. The other organizations namely SWAVET, MDS Animal Health and Rhino Park Private Hospital also donated vital veterinary amenities for the dogs which included drugs and food to the Canine Unit.

With conservation funding affected by the lockdown, a number of areas in north-western Namibia’s rhino range have been left exposed by the lack of tourists thus requiring extra patrolling. With the donation of 1,000 ounces of gold by B2Gold, the launch of the B2Gold Rhino Gold Bar in January 2020 and the subsequent sale of 600 bars to local buyers, the B2Gold Rhino Gold Bar Advisory Committee has responded to the crisis.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) in collaboration with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) translocated 30 giraffes to two communal conservancies and a national park within the month of June. Ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda in a statement this week said the translocation took place with the assistance from Du Preez Wild and funding by GCF and Wildlife Conservation Alliance. According to Muyunda the ministry captured and translocated 13 giraffes to Mangetti National Park in Kavango West; three to Okongo Conservancy in Ohangwena and 14…

Namibia has managed to arrest more than 1,790 suspected poachers of high valued and iconic species such as rhino and elephant at the end of 2018 up to May 2020, an official said this week.

The Ministry and the UNDP said biodiversity is especially significant to Namibia with about 70% of people depending on natural resources based productive systems for survival. "Even though many livelihoods depend on the environment, more needs to be done to safeguard and foster its ability to sustain livelihoods," they said. According to the two, poaching is one of the biggest threats to the country’s natural environment as it threatens the population of our iconic wildlife species such as elephants and rhinos.

Poachers beware, local wildlife law enforcement has just taken a big leap with the acquisition of two Land Cruiser bakkies, courtesy of the American army, to bolster existing anti-poaching measures. The two bakkies were presented to conservation officials in the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism by Lieutenant Colonel John Lacy, the United States Defence Attaché in Namibia. The vehicles were donated by the US Department of Defence as part of the US Foreign Military financing programme for biodiversity.

While the rest of the country has been locked down for a considerable time, the rangers and game guards who protect Namibia’s wildlife could not drop their vigilance for a day.

The country's national parks will be closed for the duration of the lockdown until 5 May in compliance with the state of emergency declared by the President in reaction to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism, spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda, in a statement last week said during the duration, tour operations and guiding activities will not be allowed in the national parks which also includes closure of accommodation establishments.

During last year, an estimated 12 elephants and 45 rhinos were poached during 2019, the ministry of environment and tourism’s wildlife crime report of 2019 shows. The ministry seized 116 elephant tusks and 8 rhino horns during the year, however, the reported notes that the number of elephant tusks seized does not relate directly to the number of elephants killed in Namibia, as some tusks may originate from elephants killed in neighbouring countries. The year under review saw wildlife crime cases registered (high-value species only) at 174 with 92 cases related to…

A critically endangered Namibian mammal is receiving international attention with the release this week of an investigative report detailing the ongoing largescale tracking in this group of species. The eight species of pangolins or scaly anteaters are found across Africa, the middle East and South Asia. All eight species are widely pouched for their scales, believed by superstitious Orientals to have medicinal value. In fact, the scales are just compressed hair meaning they consist of keratin.

The Ministry of Environment Forestry and Tourism with immediate effect will issue transport permits for already harvested timber destined for the local market, an official announced Thursday. The Minister of Environment Forestry and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta at a media briefing Thursday said no export permits will be issued for unprocessed or semi-processed timber.

Local short film, ‘Baxu and the Giants’ will have its first public screening of the year at the DHPS Auditorium, on Thursday, 6 February. Entrance is free but any donations to the Save the Rhino Trust will be welcome.

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism has recorded 26 poaching incidents since January, according to the ministry’s spokesperson Romeo Muyunda this week. According to the statistics, seven elephants and 19 rhinos were poached since January. In May, the ministry recorded 18 incidents in which eight animals were killed.

There are worrying signs that Namibia’s legendary wild game numbers may be plummeting. Four years ago the Namibian Professional Hunters Association raised an alarm about the lack of huntable elephant bulls in the Caprivi region, where the number of communal conservancies had grown from one in 1997 to 15 today.

The Ministry of Environment has recorded nine poaching incidents since January this year, six involving rhinos and three involving elephants, a government spokesperson said last week, as reported by Xinhua. Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Romeo Muyunda, said the poaching incidents mainly occurred in private and custodian farms; no poaching was recorded in the national parks.