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.
Three Hurungwe men who captured themselves on camera killing an elephant using traditional weapons and dogs yesterday appeared before Kariba magistrate accused of hunting or removing any animal or part of the animal in a safari area without a permit. Francis Chigomararwa (30), Simeon Kezias (23) and Arthur Murimbika (24) all from Nyamakate area are also facing another charge of killing a buffalo.The accused were unlucky when a video went viral of them killing an elephant after setting their dogs on it before attacking it using spears and axes.
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ZIM_2024_16_Trio arrested for poaching_Newsday Zimbabwe.pdf | 191.01 KB |
Traditional leaders in Kariba district have condemned wildlife poaching in the area, adding that the crime was detrimental to the development of tourism in the district. Kariba's tourism is anchored on wildlife, hence the need for conservation, but despite a significant drop in elephant poaching, the practice was rampant among other smaller animals.
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ZIM_2023_11_Traditional leaders condemn poaching_NewsDay.pdf | 200.18 KB |
A 34-year-old Harare man has appeared before magistrate Dennis Mangosi charged with illegal possession of ivory. Author Edwin Kowe of Stone Ridge, was arrested on February 19, 2023 after being trapped by detectives from the Police Minerals Flora and Fauna Section who posed as potential buyers. One of the detectives pretended to be an ivory buyer, while the other team carried out surveillance as backup. The detective who was acting as the buyer phoned the accused person and lured him to Waterworks along Chiremba Road.
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ZIM_2023_02_Ivory dealer nabbed in police trap_NewsDay.pdf | 183.96 KB |
A Chinese national Wang Yang and his three local accomplices including a police officer stationed in Harare appeared in court on Wednesday charged with illegal possession of rhino horns worth US$600 000.
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ZIM_2023_01_Chinese national 3 accomplices in court over rhino horns_NewsDay.pdf | 346.34 KB |
Gaborone, Nov. 2: Pangolin poaching activities in Botswana over the last seven years are a cause for concern, an official with Botswana's Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) said on Wednesday. Kabelo Senyatso, the director of the DWNP, told Xinhua in an interview that Botswana is grappling with illegal pangolin trade.
Two Mutoko men have been jailed nine years each for illegal possession of a pangolin.
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ZIM_2022_09_2 Mutoko men jailed over pangolin_NewsDay.pdf | 329.92 KB |
"This award to the ranger team has come despite operating in the face of adversity, with the results of a positive growth population of rhino." "Under the protection of ATS, the rhino population in Save Valley Conservancy has seen a biological growth rate of 7%, this is above the 5% IUCN recommendation for game reserves protecting rhino, and maintained a poaching mortality rate of below 2%, also IUCN recommended," the WCPA statement read.
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ZIM_2022_07_Zim anti_poaching unit receives award_NewsDay.pdf | 481.69 KB |
Three men travelling through Kadoma will rue the day they caged a pangolin after they were caught in possession of the mammal on Saturday.
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ZIM_2022_05_Three men arrested for pangolin poaching_NewsDay.pdf | 431.99 KB |
Three Harare men, including a game ranger and a police officer yesterday appeared before magistrate Babra Mateko charged with illegal possession of 28 kilogrammes of ivory worth $700 000.
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ZIM_2022_04_Ranger_cop nabbed for illegal possession of ivory_NewsDay Zimbabwe.pdf | 170.07 KB |
The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (Zela) has called on key stakeholders, including the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), to collaborate in combating illegal trade and smuggling of wildlife products. The call coincided with the World Wildlife Day commemorations held yesterday. Wildlife trafficking in Africa is mainly rife in politically unstable countries and where there is widespread breakdown of law and order.
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ZIM_2022_03_Need for collaborative efforts in combating illicit wildlife trade_Activists_NewsDay.pdf | 529.42 KB |
Zimbabwe has partnered four other states in the Kavango Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA) in an agreement which will see them joining forces to combat wildlife crime. The four states that will work with Zimbabwe to defend their borders against wildlife threats are Angola, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia.
The courts never cease to disappoint. Two years ago, the Supreme Court delivered a retrogressive judgment on pangolin conservation. A few days ago, the High Court delivered a bombshell on a rhino-related case. The court acquitted a man who was found in possession of four rhino horns in Harare.
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ZIM_2022_02_A sad day for rhino conservation in Zim_NewsDay.pdf | 310.39 KB |
Two Bulawayo men have been slapped with a nine-year jail term each for illegal possession of pangolin skins.
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ZIM_2022_01_Pangolin skins land pair in jail_Newsday.pdf | 351.88 KB |
African governments have been urged to jointly fight wildlife trafficking by coming up with legislation and policies that curb the vice. Leading international wildlife conservation body, the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) on Tuesday told journalists attending a wildlife reporting training programme in Harare that laws should be crafted to impose stiffer sentences on wildlife poachers and traffickers. The participants were from Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, South Africa, Botswana and Kenya.
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ZIM_2021_11_Africa urged to fight wildlife trafficking_NewsDay Zimbabwe.pdf | 360.21 KB |
Two Mbire poachers were yesterday sentenced to a combined 20-year jail term by Guruve magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa over possession of 34,12kg of elephant tusks.
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ZIM_2021_10_Mbire poachers jailed 20 years_NewsDay.pdf | 343.06 KB |
Poaching has been the greatest threat to wildlife and might cause its extinction in different African countries including Zimbabwe, a wildlife expert has said. Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe president Emmanuel Fundira yesterday said, while game meat production can contribute to economic growth in the country, there was need to curb poaching activities. In a survey conducted in eastern Madagascar, it was revealed that 95% of those interviewed said they had eaten at least one protected species.
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ZIM_2021_10_Poaching a threat to Africas wildlife_NewsDay.pdf | 946.8 KB |
A Harare man who, resides at the Presidential Guard Brigade, appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court charged with unlawful possession of a live pangolin.
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SA_2021_08_Man in court for possession of pangolin_News day.pdf | 210.44 KB |
Three Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) officials are battling for life at a hospital in Harare after they were recently severely assaulted by suspected poachers in Mushumbi, Mashonaland Central province.
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ZIM_2021_08_Poachers axe ZimParks rangers_NewsDay Zimbabwe.pdf | 95.48 KB |
A plot by a jealous Guruve man to get his ex-wife and her boyfriend imprisoned by planting ivory on her hit a snag after he was arrested for possession of ivory.
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ZIM_2021_07_Jealous man plants ivory in ex_wifes toilet_News Day.pdf | 161.36 KB |
Two unemployed Harare men appeared in court last week for illegal possession of ivory.
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ZIM_2021_07_2 nabbed for illegal possession of ivory_NewsDay.pdf | 346.58 KB |
Last week, six lions were found dead and dissected in a suspected poisoning incident in the Queen Elizabeth National Park in Kanungu District, southwestern Uganda. The lions were discovered with their heads and appendages chopped off, and their carcasses were surrounded by dead vultures, which raised suspicion that they had been poisoned. Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) said it could not rule out illegal wildlife trafficking.
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UGA_2021_03_Killers of lions wanted body parts for sale_officials_Daily Monitor.pdf | 525.21 KB |