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.
Building on last year's donation of four Bat Hawk surveillance aircraft to South African National Parks (SANParks) to aid surveillance, conservation and anti-poaching efforts in the Kruger National Park, Anglo American Platinum this morning donated another Bat Hawk that will be going to SANParks' Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape. In addition, a Bat Hawk aircraft will be donated to Mapungubwe National Park, which is located on the border of South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
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SA_2023_09_SANParks records a 78 percent decrease in Rhino poaching_Gateway.pdf | 250.77 KB |
Six Zimbabwean nationals, found guilty of rhino poaching, appeared at the Makhanda High Court on Wednesday, 14 June 2023, for their long-awaited sentencing. The six felons were first arrested in July 2018. Almost five years after their arrest, Francis Chitiyo, Trymore Chauke, Misheck Chauke, Simba Masinge, Nhamo Muyambo, and Abraham Moyane have been sentenced to between 16 to 20 years for conspiracy to kill rhinos so that they could steal their horns and for possession of an unlawful firearm and ammunition.
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SA_2023_06_Six rhino poachers sentenced to between 16 to 20 years_Grocotts Mail.pdf | 402.32 KB |
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.
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KEN_2023_05_Tanzanian among 2 arrested with 81 kilos of elephant tusks in Makueni_The Star.pdf | 366.1 KB |
As the world returns to post-covid normality, so do its trade routes and the unfortunate consequence of increased wildlife trafficking, experts say.
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WORLD_2023_04_Wildlife trafficking could return to pre_pandemic numbers_Getaway.pdf | 449.22 KB |
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.
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MOZ_2022_11_Mozambicans jailed for 30 years for rhino hunting_The Star.pdf | 425.34 KB |
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.
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NAM_Rhinoceros poaching surges in Namibia_The Star.pdf | 348.34 KB |
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.
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NIG_2022_08_DCI arrests 3 suspects found in possession of pangolin in Kwale_The Star.pdf | 505.61 KB |
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.
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KEN_2022_06_Kwale police arrest two illegal pangolin hunters_The Star.pdf | 645.82 KB |
A 23-year-old man, Rich Ricardo Chauke, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment after rangers apprehended him with a rifle and an axe in Kruger National Park.
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SA_2022_04_Poacher with rifle and axe in Kruger Park sentenced to prison_Getaway.pdf | 458.84 KB |
As Malawi registers a drop in ivory and rhino horn trafficking, it has noticed an increase in pangolin poaching with related arrests having tripled between 2019 and 2020.
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MAL_2022_03_Pangolin trafficking on the rise in Malawi_Getaway.pdf | 484.28 KB |
The charge sheet says the tusks weighed three kilograms, worth Sh300,000.
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KEN_2022_02_Man in court for trying to sell Sh300 000 tusks to cops_The Star.pdf | 779.39 KB |
Two suspected poachers were on Thursday arrested in Korinda junction in Busia county. Police acted on a tip-off from members of the public and nabbed the two men, 60-year-old Mohamed Abbas and a 70-year-old Paul Wafula Njoka. The suspects were using a motorbike with registration number KMEV721N in their operation. The police recovered the haul after conducting a search. They took them as exhibits together with the motorbike. The two suspects were taken to Busia Police station as they wait to be arraigned to answer to charges.
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KEN_2022_01_Two suspected poachers arrested_14 pieces of ivory recovered_The Star.pdf | 469.51 KB |
Kenya Wildlife Service wardens in Laikipia on Wednesday evening arrested four suspected poachers and recovered four pieces of elephant ivories weighing 76 kilogrammes.
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KEN_2021_10_Four suspected poachers arrested with 76kg ivory_The Star.pdf | 395.1 KB |
A pregnant Temminck's pangolin was rescued from suspected poaching and handed over to the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital recently. The Hospital stated that she was 'retrieved from a community handover' through a collaborative effort between the African Pangolin Working Group, South African Police Service (APWG), Endangered Species and Stock Theft Unit, and the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism.
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SA_2021_07_Pregnant pangolin rescued from suspected poaching_safely released_Getaway.pdf | 912.52 KB |
Two rhino poachers were sentenced to 19 years imprisonment on Thursday, 24 June, after they were caught with two rhino horns, ammunition, and an axe just outside Kruger National Park around Komatipoort in 2019.
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SA_2021_06_Two rhino poachers sentenced to 19 years in prison_Getaway.pdf | 440.88 KB |
At least five white rhinos were killed and dehorned on different occasions in November, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in Botswana confirmed Thursday.
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BOT_2020-12_Five white rhinos killed by poachers in November in Botswana_The Star.pdf | 79.96 KB |
A mature female Temminck's pangolin was retrieved out of the illegal trade by the South African Police Service’s Endangered Species Unit on April 25 in the Alldays region of Limpopo Province. She was transported to a Polokwane veterinarian which is where the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital’s Dr Karin Lourens drove to assist with the stabilising and initial examination. During an abdominal ultrasound, it was discovered that Ally was pregnant!
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SA_2020-09_Rescued pangolin gives birth in Limpopo_Getaway.pdf | 542.81 KB |
As we now know, Botswana is home to a third of Africa's declining elephant population. But, over the last two months, 350 elephant carcasses have been spotted in the Okavango Delta since the start of May. It is a serious worry that over 350 elephants have died with no clear reason and indeed a conservation disaster.
The world looks at this mysterious deaths and needs to know the real cause of the mass loss of elephants, and what should be done to stop this unnatural disaster, one thing the deaths are unrelated to drought.
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BOT_2020-07_The stronghold for Africass elephants is under certain threat_The Star.pdf | 246.64 KB |
COVID-19 has brought the world to its knees and is believed to have been caused by the consumption of an endangered animal. Now, South African Government is proposing an amendment to the Meat Safety Act which expands the list of animals that may be legally consumed by humans.
The proposed amended list classifies animals for slaughter, consumption, import, export and sale. This list now includes many threatened species in South Africa including rhino, elephant and giraffe. It also includes undefined birds, reptiles and fish.
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SA_2020-05_Government aims to legalise rhino consumption_Getaway.pdf | 369.89 KB |
The trial of six men facing rhino-poaching charges continued in the Grahamstown High Court this week. East London residents Francis Chitiyo, Trymore Chauke, Misheck Chauke, Simba Masinge and Nhamo Muyambo, and Abraham Moyane were arrested in July 2018 during Operation Full Moon – the Eastern Cape Rhino Task Team’s code name for its anti-poaching operations. All six have since been in custody. They are accused on four counts.
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SA_2020-03_Poaching trial to resume in May_Grocotts Mail.pdf | 831.45 KB |