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The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism has reported a distressing surge in rhino poaching incidents, with 28 rhinos poached in the country so far this year. Of particular concern is the discovery of 19 poached rhinos within the iconic Etosha National Park, 10 found during dehorning operations throughout March. Ministerial spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda said in a statement. Muyunda said the recent spate of poaching threatens not only the rhino population but also the integrity of this vital tourism attraction.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism has sounded the alarm on the rapid decline of wildlife habitats due to deforestation and industrial emissions, exacerbating the impacts of climate change and hindering efforts to sustainably manage natural resources. In a statement released over the weekend to mark World Wildlife Day, Romeo Muyunda, spokesperson for the ministry, highlighted the urgent need to confront the challenges confronting local wildlife.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism in Namibia delivered a stark message on World Pangolin Day, shedding light on the alarming rise in illegal trafficking and poaching activities targeting pangolins. Teofilus Nghitila, the Ministerial Executive Director, expressed deep concern over the ongoing illegal capture of pangolins, highlighting them as the most trafficked mammals since 2014. "Unfortunately, this relentless exploitation has led to a steep decline in their population, pushing them perilously close to extinction," he emphasized.

South Africa's most exclusive enclave of private nature reserves reveals their hidden security nerve centre - and shows what they've done to thwart horn poachers for nearly a record year.

As two collectors walk down the South Korean nursery's humid aisles, they spot a magnificent specimen. Having collected South African succulents for over two decades, their greenhouse showcases many plants growing in what looks like their natural Succulent Karoo habitat. But they have never seen this species before, and judging from its size, the plant looks decades old. The nursery owner tells them the succulent is a new mother plant used for cultivation and is not for sale. But if they wanted an equally large plant, he could connect them to his broker.

Snaring has surged 200% in the Kruger National Park, also causing lion extinctions elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.

There are worrying signs that the illegal trade is becoming more organised, with professionals and government officials involved.

A void left by illegal horn income may now be driving neighbouring communities to snare and shoot species such as African buffalo in the park's southwest sector. Despite the lowveld’s searing heat, thorny canopy and tough terrain, Kruger's staff and honorary rangers say they are fighting back - on foot.

Since 2020, snaring has tripled in the crown jewels of South Africa's Big Five reserves. This suggests economic hardship, although it is not the sole factor to blame. Responding to questions by the Democratic Alliance’s Hannah Winkler on the park’s snaring trends, Environment Minister Barbara Creecy reported the removal of thousands of snares: In 2020, 2,407 snares were removed; In 2021, 4,454 snares were removed; In 2022, 7,270 snares were removed.

Joining famed conservationists Jane Goodall and Carl Jones at the 12th Oppenheimer Research Conference, a former SANParks conservation boss warns that - thanks to a lack of funds and government interference - most provincial game reserves face collapse, but suggests solutions might be found among not-forprofits, the private sector and surrounding communities.

The anti-poaching drive was strengthened with the recent launch of two Rhino Management plans and a horse patrol unit last week at the Etosha National Park on Friday. Speaking at the commemoration of World Rhino Day, the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT), Pohamba Shifeta said the day is dedicated to raising awareness about the threats that the rhino population is facing and how the world can come together and protect these endangered species.

Illegal wire snares are becoming more common in Etosha National Park, causing concern for the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism. A total of 62 active wire snares were retrieved in the area around Okaukuejo, in the îagship Etosha National Park, over three days, according to spokesperson Romeo Muyunda on Tuesday.

A new investigative report on SA's lion farming industry comes to a damning conclusion: 'This new intelligence gathered by brave sources confirms what was previously suspected - these well-established, legal operations are plugged secretly into unethical practices and an illicit international trade network.'

The head of the North West Parks and Tourism Board has told Parliament that the thieves who stole 51 rhino horns from its guarded facility in June must have had intimate knowledge of its security system.

Fifteen years after South Africa was hit by an unprecedented wave of rhino-horn poaching, the slaughter rate remains relentless - with one rhino shot almost every day in KwaZulu-Natal, the historic heartland of global rhino conservation. More than 60% of the rhinos killed in South Africa so far in 2023 drew their last breaths in KwaZulu-Natal as poachers continue to shift more of their deadly firepower and axes to the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, one of the world’s last strongholds of wild rhino conservation. Latest poaching …

South African National Parks has confirmed that lions have been targeted in a poisoning campaign in the northern Kruger Park by poachers seeking the animals’ body parts, presumably for the muti trade. The numbers are not huge, but in the wake of the rhino poaching onslaught, the targeting of another charismatic species in the iconic park will set off alarm bells among conservationists.

The Wildlife Justice Commission has published details of a rhino horn trafficking case that includes the use of frozen seafood and 'mishandled baggage', as well as the failure of authorities not to publicly report their seizure of the horn. 

The Hawks have arrested a second suspect allegedly linked to the stockpile hit at the North West Parks Board headquarters in Mafikeng last week. According to a Daily Maverick source, the suspect was apprehended in a planned operation near Brits at about 9pm on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning the arrest was confirmed by a senior SAPS officer who did not want to be identified.

Conservationists are raising serious questions about crime scene protocols - and the sense in stockpiling rhino horn - after a report claimed the police took eight hours to respond to a burglary at the North West Parks Board on Monday. In what is being described as a well-planned heist executed with military precision, thieves broke into the Heritage House headquarters of the North West Parks Board in the early hours of Monday and stole 51 rhino horns worth millions of rands on the Asian black market.

The recent sentencing of six Zimbabweans - members of the so-called Chitiyo Rhino Poaching Gang - to prison terms ranging from 16 to 20 years suggests that authorities are slowly but steadily making inroads in tackling the poaching scourge.

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.

Eight suspects were netted over the long easter weekend for crime related to rhino poaching in two separate incidences, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism announced on Thursday.

Vietnamese authorities on Monday seized seven tonnes of ivory smuggled from Angola, the largest seizure of wildlife products in years, the government said.

For decades the area surrounding the serene and picturesque Jozini Dam and Pongola Nature Reserve has been a tourist mecca, drawing well-heeled local and international visitors keen on seeing nature at its best, including cruises to watch elephants grazing and to spot rare species. Luxury lodges and hundreds of workers depend on the viability of the local tourist attractions and a constant stream of high-spending visitors.

The Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife conservation agency has, up till now, opted to not dehorn its rhinos to protect them from poachers. But that could change soon, following another year of relentless killings in which the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park emerged as the current rhino poaching hotspot, globally. The latest poaching figures released by national Environment Minister Barbara Creecy show that 244 rhinos were killed by horn poachers in KwaZulu-Natal in 2022 - the vast majority of them in the HIP.

In a poaching update of high-value species, namely elephants and rhinos, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) spokesperson Romeo Muyunda revealed that the elephant poaching cases have dropped from 101 recorded in 2015, to 50 in 2017, 27 in 2018, 13 in 2019, 12 in 2020, 10 in 2021 and only four in 2022. The four poached elephants in 2022 include two in the Zambezi Region, one in the Kavango West Region, and one in the Kunene Region, according to Muyunda. "We hope that these figures will continue to descend until we reach the zero-poaching target.

An appeal court has increased the prison sentence of a rhino poacher from 11 to 15 years.

The first case of rhino poaching this year was recorded in an incident where a suspected poacher was killed on Saturday, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda confirmed this week. It is alleged that three male suspects hunted a rhino at farm Okarakua, Windhoek district, in which one suspect was shot and killed by the anti-poaching members and another male suspect, aged 27 was arrested, while the third one is still at large, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security’s weekend serious crime report stated.

Private and communal lands now conserve at least 50% of Africa's rhinos, according to a newly published paper in journal 'Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment', highlighting the need for 'adaptive policies' to build on this success. These trends have policy implications as debates rage about rhino-horn trade and trophy hunting.

Kruger National Park, the world's greatest refuge for rhinos, is losing them to poaching faster than they're being born. The park's last rhino may already be alive. It's time to declare an emergency.

Muyunda said even though Namibia continues to record successes in the fight against wildlife crime, poaching of highly valued species remains a concern. In 2022 to date, Namibia recorded 63 rhinos poached cases in the country consisting of 41 black rhinos and 22 white rhinos. "This year’s poaching cases include 15 rhinos poached on custodianship farms, another 22 on private farms, and 26 in the Etosha National Park.

Rhino poachers entering Kruger National Park are increasingly being run down by packs of unleashed hunting hounds in full cry, followed by a chopper tracking their hi-tech GPS collars. As the baying pack approaches, the poacher has no idea the dogs are trained to not attack. They won't bite him (there are legal implications), but if he tries to harm the dogs, rangers will fire from the chopper. The poachers know this and no dog has yet
been lost to a poacher’s bullet.

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.

A Ugandan court has handed a life sentence to a man caught with nearly 10 kg of elephant ivory, the country's highest punishment ever for wildlife violations, authorities said on Friday.

A total of 55 rhinos have been poached to date this year, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT) said Wednesday, adding that the current statistics are deeply concerning. This is compared to a figure of 44 rhinos in 2021, however, 36 people have been arrested for rhino-related cases this year, compared to 80 in 2021, the MEFT Minister Pohamba Shifeta highlighted on the occasion of 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…

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT) last week on Friday received equipment and vehicles to assist in the fight against poaching and the illegal wildlife trade as the country continues to battle with a surge in cases. The donation from the U.S. government which included two Toyota Landcruiser and two Hyundai Game Viewer Trucks as well as anti-poaching equipment all valued at N$9 million Namibia dollars was handed over to the MEFT officials by a senior leader delegation from the U.S. Africa Command.

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.

The first eight months of 2022 saw 48 rhinos poached, four times more than the rhinos poached in 2021, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism announced on Wednesday. The country recorded 44 rhinos poached in 2021, 42 in 2020, 57 in 2019, 83 in 2018, and 55 in 2017. The Etosha National Park alone saw 20 cases this year, with two carcasses discovered in the area just last week. In total, 32 poached rhinos are black and 16 are white. A total of 12 black rhinos were poached on custodianship farms and 16 white rhinos were poached on private farms.

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.

Rhino poachers have shifted focus from national parks to custodianship and private farms with both black and white rhinos being the target, Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism spokesperson (MEFT) Romeo Muyunda said this week. According to MEFT, 33 rhinos poached have been poached so far this year, of which 24 are black rhinos and nine are white rhinos.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT) recently announced the confiscation of 75 wood planks that are believed to have been illegally harvested in the Kavango region area after a tip-off from the public, an official said this week. All harvesting of trees and wood, anywhere in Namibia, is governed by the Forest Act and its Regulations. "The planks are believed to have been illegally harvested from farms that are in Ncamagoro in the Kavango West Region," MEFT spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda said in a statement.

A national report on Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement released recently said that Namibia has inadequate data about the Temminck's ground pangolin's distribution, density, and the impact poaching has on the population. The Temminck ground pangolin is one of the four species found in Africa and the only species in southern Africa. According to the report, only discovered carcasses of pangolins give a relative indication of the extent of poaching. Still, it is not known how many occur in Namibia nor how many are successfully trafficked out of the country.

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.

The Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF) and Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) recently announced a long-term landmark partnership focused on better comprehending the current state of knowledge about the illegal wildlife trade (IWT), and the economics of IWT in southern Africa.

Liberian Moazu Kromah - known as "Kampala Man" - led one of the most active wildlife-trafficking syndicates on the African continent before his arrest in the Ugandan capital in February 2017. Just more than five years later, in March 2022, more than 11,000km away from the city in which he based his operation and from which his alias derives, Kromah quietly entered into a plea bargain with the Southern District of New York (SDNY), which is known for tackling high-profile organised crime and corruption cases.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) has confirmed that it has moved to make security adjustments and to close any loopholes in Etosha National Park to ensure that wildlife crimes, poaching incidences, in particular, do not occur again.

Two alleged rhino poachers in connection with the 11 rhinos poached in Etosha National park have been apprehended, an official said this week. The ongoing police operation at Etosha National Park led to the arrest of two rhino poachers on Wednesday evening, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said, adding that investigations are at an advanced stage.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) on Tuesday confirmed that with an ongoing operation in Etosha National Park, 11 rhino carcasses from the beginning of June to date have been discovered. MEFT spokesperson Romeo Muyunda in a statement said all the 11 were found without horns and they were black rhinos. "Investigations indicate that the carcasses range between 3 weeks and older. This is regrettable and a strong indication that the fight against poaching is not over," he added.

As several stories have revealed across different platforms of late, most pertinently in the long delayed release of the Rhino Report in Daily Maverick of 31 May, poaching in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park has boomed. There is little argument among conservation bodies about the numbers - some 95 rhinos have been poached in the park so far this year. It drew to mind an interview I recorded with former Environmental Affairs Minister, Edna Molewa, in about 2013 for a multimedia eBook I was producing called, iRhino.

While forensic science has proven highly successful in helping catch perpetrators of human crimes - with a single cell now being enough for forensic sleuths to form a DNA profile - its potential in animal-related crimes remains largely untapped. The Wildlife Forensic Academy (WFA) is a first-of-its-kind forensic training facility. It was launched on 13 May at Buffelsfontein Nature Reserve on the West Coast and will be another weapon in the fight against wildlife crime.