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The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has recorded 28 rhinos poached in Namibia from January to date. This was announced yesterday in a media statement by ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda. “It is concerning to note that 19 were poached in Etosha National Park, of which 10 were discovered during dehorning operations throughout the month of March,” he said.

Namibia's Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism said Saturday that rapid deforestation and industrial emissions in the country are causing habitat loss for rare and endangered wildlife, exacerbating climate change impacts such as droughts and floods, and hindering efforts to sustainably manage natural resources for future generations. In a statement commemorating World Wildlife Day, Romeo Muyunda, the ministry's spokesperson, underscored the critical need to address the challenges facing Namibia's wildlife.

Zambezi regional police arrested two Zambian nationals for possession of 15 elephant tusks in the Kapani area of the Linyanti constituency on Sunday. The two Zambian nationals, aged 29 and 32, were part of a group of seven, however,

One suspect has been arrested while seven suspects fled from the scene after officials discovered 24 elephant tusks in a car at Katima Mulilo on Friday.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has launched a new initiative to fight against rhino poaching. Speaking at the launch of the initiative, which coincided with the commemoration of the World Rhino Day hosted at Okaukejo over the weekend, environment minister Pohamba Shifeta said Namibia has the second-largest white Rhino population in the world after South Africa and the largest population of black Rhinos in the world. However, Shifeta said that rhinos have become an endangered species, and, in some areas, they have even become extinct…

Two carcasses of rhinos were found in the Etosha National Park last Monday and Wednesday.

Oshana police commissioner Naftal Sakaria says armed poachers found in the Etosha National Park should surrender to the police or they will be shot. Police inspector general Joseph Shikongo last week appointed Sakaria as the commander of the anti-poaching unit in Etosha National Park for a period of six months. While in this position, he will also remain the Oshana regional commander. Sakaria is tasked with commanding the police and military forces deployed in the flagship park to protect animals, especially iconic animals such elephants and rhinos, from being poached.

A group of private game farmers, Help our Rhino Now Namibia (HoRN.nam), is offering a reward of N$100 000 for information leading to the arrest of poachers who shot a rhino at a farm near Windhoek. HoRN.nam said in a media statement on Wednesday that rhino poaching has escalated in Namibia over the past 18 months. The organisation says this poses a real and critical threat to the well-being and future survival of Namibian rhino populations.

Etosha National Park has become a poaching hotspot, as rhino poaching remains a serious concern in the country, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has said in an update on poaching. According to a statement released by the ministry's spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda yesterday, 87 rhinos were poached last year, 61 of them black rhinos and 26 white rhinos.

A man arrested for allegedly being in possession of two elephant tusks at the Buffalo checkpoint on Friday evening, was granted bail on Monday.

The police in Divundu have arrested a 31-year-old man after he was allegedly found in possession of two elephant tusks.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism says 63 rhinos have been poached since January this year.

Six people were arrested for rhino poaching, and one suspect for being in possession of a pangolin skin, states the report.

The prisoner, Wang Hui (47), escaped in the Brakwater area north of Windhoek, where he was part of a team of inmates doing work outside the prison, around 11h00 on Monday, the Namibian Correctional Service's head of directorate central staff, Michael Mulisa, says. Wang Hui is serving a 15-year prison term for attempting to smuggle 14 rhino horns and a leopard skin out of Namibia in March 2014.

The minister of environment, forestry and tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, says 36 people have been arrested for rhino-related cases this year alone. Shifeta was speaking at the handover of 10 vehicles, park management and law enforcement equipment funded by the Integrated National Park Management II (NamParks V and Covid-19 Fund) and Integrated Wildlife Protection projects in Windhoek on Wednesday. According to Shifeta, it is of great concern that 55 rhinos have been poached to date this year. "This is compared to 44 rhinos poached in 2021.

A police officer working at Otjiwarongo police station is due to appear in the Otjiwarongo Magistrate's Court on Tuesday after one of six rhino horns left in his care went missing.

A businessman whose case involving alleged wildlife crimes was struck off the court roll last week has been summoned to return to the Windhoek Regional Court on the same charges in November.

A Chinese businessman who has been facing charges of dealing in controlled wildlife products over the past eight years left the Windhoek Magistrate's Court as a free man yesterday, after his case was struck from the court roll. The state alleged that the five men illegally dealt in four elephant tusks in Windhoek on 11 June 2014.

The International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC) says it supports Namibia's proposal to the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species (Cites) to transfer its population of white rhinoceros from Appendix I to Appendix II. This would be for the exclusive purpose of allowing international trade in live animals for in-situ conservation and trophy hunting.

The preacher and admitted rhinoceros poacher Jackson Babi is facing a prison term of at least 10 years, which would increase to 27 years if he does not pay fines also imposed on him, after pleading guilty on 11 criminal charges in the Gobabis Regional Court.

Namibia saw 48 rhinos killed for their horns in the first eight months of 2022, four more than the 44 cases reported in 2021. The country recorded 44 rhinos poached in 2021, 42 in 2020, 57 in 2019, 83 in 2018, and 55 in 2017. Etosha National Park alone saw 20 cases this year, with two carcasses discovered in the area just last week. The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism said of the poached rhinos, 32 are black and 16 are white.

About 20 rhinos have been poached at the Etosha National Park so far this year, with five carcasses discovered between June and August. This was announced in a statement yesterday by Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda. Muyunda said 12 black rhinos were poached on custodianship farms and 16 white rhinos were poached on private farms across the country. A total of 32 poached rhinos were black, while 16 were white.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism is investigating some of its workers at Etosha National Park for possibly playing a part in the rhino poaching syndicate which recently left 11 of the mammals dead. Addressing the media yesterday environment minister Pohamba Shifeta said they suspect the "act" was an inside job. All the rhinos killed were also dehorned. He said the ministry is broadening investigations to determine whether its workers were complicit in the matter.

Two male suspects were arrested on Thursday in connection with the poaching of 11 rhinos in Etosha National Park. This was confirmed by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda. "They were arrested yesterday and, at this stage, no further information can be given as investigations are still premature," Muyunda said. Earlier this week, the ministry issued a statement saying the carcasses were discovered during ongoing operations in Etosha National Park. The carcasses are suspected to be three weeks and older, according to the report.

Environment, Forestry and Tourism Minister Pohamba Shifeta says the recent discoveries of 11 dead rhinos are an indication that the country needs to up its game in curbing wildlife crime. This comes after the rhino carcasses were discovered at Etosha National Park, since the beginning of June to date, with their horns removed.

A 71-year-old man was arrested after allegedly being found in possession of four elephant tusks on Thursday. According to the police, the man was arrested at Nonidas River Plots at Swakopmund.

Environment, forestry and tourism minister Pohamba Shifeta has revealed that Namibia's elephant population has grown to an estimated 23 736 since independence.

At least 369 alleged poachers have been arrested in the last nine months, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism says. "Of these cases, 100 are related to pangolin poaching and trafficking, 64 to elephant poaching and trafficking, while 113 are related to rhino poaching and trafficking," ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda says. Over the last five years, elephant poaching has declined from 50 cases in 2017 to five thus far this year, while rhino poaching declined from 81 cases in 2018 to 14 this year. Ministry officials last week discovered two carcasses…

Three men have been arrested in connection with wildlife crime, Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said in a weekly wildlife crime report on Wednesday. According to the report, Alberto Johannes Joel was arrested on 12 September this year at Otavi in the Otjozondjupa region. He was reportedly found in possession of a live pangolin. Another suspect, Ignasius Mbaraka Mutunda, was arrested in connection with a June 2020 case when he was allegedly found in possession of a rhino carcass. He was arrested on Friday at Outjo in the Kunene region.

Four people were arrested in the Kamanjab area after they were found with rhino horns.

Among the items seized from the suspects are four elephant tusks, two rhino horns, one live pangolin, a giraffe skin and a pangolin skin.

Paulus Pendapala (48), who has been arrested in connection with the possession of a rhino horn with a pastor and a police officer, has died. His death on Saturday came two weeks after he was denied bail in the Ondangwa Magistrate's Court on the basis that he was facing charges of dealing in wildlife products. According to acting Oshikoto regional commander commissioner Petrus Shigwedha, Paulus complained that he was not feeling well at about 11h00 on Saturday.

A Windhoek resident who admitted he possessed rhino horns in the city nearly five years ago suffered an expensive loss at the end of his trial in the Windhoek Regional Court on Friday, with a luxury vehicle which the police had seized from him declared forfeited to the state.

A pastor and a member of the Namibian Police, who were allegedly found in possession of a rhino horn, were last week granted bail in the amount of N$5 000 each when they appeared in the Ondangwa Magistrate's Court. Alfons Tjikuru of the Enlightened Christian Gathering at Otjiwarongo, which is led by the controversial 'prophet' Shepherd Bushiri, and officer Michael Muronga, as well as Herman Paulus were arrested on 13 March this year after they were allegedly found in possession of rhino horn.

The defence team representing three men accused of the illegal possession of, and dealing in two large elephant tusks worth about N$104 000, argued that there is no law in Namibia stating that a person is required to get a dealers permit when a permit to possess that product exists. Dirk Vermeulen (50), Edgar Clarke (41) and Michael Lusse (60) were arrested at Walvis Bay in 2019 during a sting operation involving the Namibian Police's Protected Resources Unit after they intended to sell the two tusks.

Barks Sobozi (44) was arrested at Silonga after months of joint investigations by the Wildlife Protection Services (WPS) division of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, and the Namibian Defence Force. Sobozi is allegedly part of a transnational syndicate suspected of rhino poaching in the Botswana Delta.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism recorded fewer incidents of wildlife poaching and maintained a high number of arrests for wildlife crime in 2020, minister Pohamba Shifeta says.

A 50-year-old woman appeared in the Walvis Bay Magistrate's Court on Tuesday for possessing two elephant tusks. Karina Cloete was arrested at the harbour town on Monday after police got a tip that she had the tusks. She was charged under the provisions of the Controlled Wildlife Products and Trade Act. She was granted bail of N$10 000 and her case was postponed to 10 February this year to allow for further police investigations.

An intense debate continues to rage over whether the Namibian government should maintain its existing stockpiles of collected legal and confiscated illegal ivory. Trading in valuable wildlife products is one of the most important incentives for Namibia's coexistence with wildlife, especially rhinos and elephants, to support its conservation. There are two categories of stockpiles: Those held legally and those held illegally. Legally-held stockpiles consist of raw ivory, and are mostly owned by the government under the Controlled Wildlife Products and Trade Act 9 of 2008…

An evangelical preacher who has been in jail since May after being arrested over the possession of rhino horns and the poaching of a rhino in the Gobabis district on Friday denied guilt on a charge of bribery in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court.

Namibian conservation efforts have faced a number of major crises over the past half century.

Namibia doesn't just do anti-poaching patrols to protect rhinos. A broad suite of initiatives is in place to combat wildlife crime. These include community participation, monitoring and surveillance, security infrastructure, multi-agency partnerships, private sector support, international collaboration and more. Yet foremost among them are superb law-enforcement mechanisms to find, arrest and prosecute perpetrators.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, World Rhino Day will be marked with a talent show virtual event this year. "Even though Covid-19 is keeping us from our usual celebrations, this year we hope we can get as many people as possible from here in Namibia and around the world to show their pride and talent by joining us in a virtual campaign," said Clemens Naomab, regional project coordinator for the Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF), on Saturday. World Rhino Day is an international event, recognised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),…

A twenty-year-old Zambian man was arrested on Sunday in the Zambezi region after he was found in possession of one elephant tusk and 81 pangolin scales.

For two decades after Namibia's independence, the country experienced minimal commercial poaching. Over the past 10 years this has rapidly changed. Wildlife crime has skyrocketed and Namibia has rallied to counter the surge. A high of 97 poached rhinos estimated for 2015 has been reduced to 45 in 2019.

More than half of 363 suspects arrested for animal poaching or trafficking in 2020 were apprehended for crimes involving high-value animal species. This includes rhino, elephant and pangolin, according to the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.

The Rhino Files are periodic articles exploring the complexity of rhino conservation in Namibia. WHEN a rhino is poached, outraged environmentalists often call for the most severe measures of punishment, such as shooting the poachers on sight. Shooting poachers dead doesn't stop poaching. The poachers - usually rural Namibians with bush skills - are at the lowest rung on the criminal ladder.

An Angolan teacher facing charges over the theft of 33 rhino horns during a burglary at Outjo last year was correctly refused bail by a magistrate in May, a High Court judge has ruled.

"They just get out on bail and do it again" - this is a widespread public sentiment regarding crime in Namibia, and wildlife crime in particular. There are many misconceptions about law enforcement and the judiciary. Bail is just one of them. At the end of 2019, the number of suspects out on bail amounted to less than 20% for all crimes related to high-value wildlife (pangolin, elephant, rhinos).

A self-styled 'prophet' who has been in police custody for the past two months after being arrested on charges of rhino poaching and dealing in or possessing two rhino horns, is planning to apply for bail this week. Jackson Babi, who uses the title 'prophet' and is the founder of the House of Joy Ministries evangelical religious group in Windhoek, will launch a bail application in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court on Thursday, defence lawyer Kadhila Amoomo informed magistrate Linus Samunzala during a court appearance by Babi and a co-accused, Frizans Naululu Dumeni, on Friday…