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The illegal trade in Cape pangolin scales amongst East African nations is suspected to be the driving force behind the unlawful killing of the creatures in Botswana.

Francistown: Two men from Zimbabwe appeared in court Tuesday to face a count of capturing a protected game animal and another for entering Botswana unlawfully. According to the charge sheet, Kelvi Maposa, 43, and Matitshidza Sibanda, 33, both unemployed and from Plumtree in Zimbabwe, being persons not licensed, authorised or exempted unlawfully captured a pangolin being a protected game animal without a permit to do so.

Tsabong Police Station Commander, Superintendent Christopher Tlhapi-David says the recent interception of poachers by his team in which the suspects were later found in possession of a pangolin, signals concern for other protected species.

Johannesburg - South African National Parks (SANParks) welcomed the hefty sentence handed to two Mozambican nationals convicted for rhino poaching by the Skukuza Regional Court. Lucky Shihlangu and Sergio Mathebula were found guilty and sentenced to 18 years imprisonment on Monday. The two were arrested in the Malelane section of the Kruger National Park in September after they were found in possession of a hunting rifle, an axe, and two rhino horns.

A total of 259 rhinos were poached for their horn in South Africa, over the first six months of 2022.

Four rhino have been killed at a game reserve just outside of Cape Town. Management at the Inverdoorn private game reserve said that an anti-poaching unit found the four rhino while on their regular patrols. One of the four was pregnant. A fifth rhino was wounded and is recovering.

Franzistown: A tenderpreneur has pleaded with the court to be lenient when sentencing him after pleading guilty to illegal possession of an elephant tusk.

Francistown: It is more than two years since the state successfully appealed the case of the alleged SADC poaching ringleader, Dumisani Moyo, on urgency but has not acted on the appeal thereafter. In May 2019, Magistrate Lebogang Kebeetsweng acquitted and discharged Moyo of allegedly unlawfully being found in possession of a rhinoceros horn contrary to Section 70 of the Wildlife Conservation and National Parks Act.

Some 125 people have been arrested for rhino poaching and rhino horn trafficking across the country in the past six months. According to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment while the national lockdowns curbed the movement of people to halt the spread of Covid-19 in 2020 contributed to a decrease in rhino poaching, however the lifting of the stringent lockdown regulations appears to have seen an increase in rhino poaching in the first six months of 2021.

"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 Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) director Kabelo Senyatso has strongly refuted claims by former president Ian Khama that 120 rhinos have been poached in the last 18 months.

BDF is investigating a case in which the suspected poacher allegedly stabbed the soldier with a sharp object during an anti-poaching operation.

By introducing a zoning approach, the necessary resources can be redirected to areas most in need of support. Seven Integrated Wildlife Zones are being introduced across South Africa to protect the country’s rhino. "By demarcating areas primarily around rhino populations, wildlife in the area, as well the people living in and around conservation areas, will be protected," said the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Barbara Creecy.

The arrest and recovery was made by the Pietermaritzburg Flying Squad and K9 Unit during a joint operation. A South Coast man was arrested for being in possession of a rhino horn valued at R1,2 million after being stopped during a police operation in Pietermaritzburg last week.

The regulatory measures apply to all sub-species of black rhino found in South Africa, including the Eastern black rhino, and the white rhino.

Botswana Defence Force (BDF) soldier and a poacher have died during a poaching incident that happened early this morning at Chiefs Island in heart of the Okavango Delta, the army has confirmed.

Shoot-to-kill policies just don’t work, are immoral and unlawful too. To my knowledge, the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) and Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) anti-poaching squads have killed well over 60 alleged poachers since the late 1980s with no discernible effect.