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.
When Edward Ndiritu joined Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, central Kenya, as a rhino monitor in 1996, poaching had already reduced the nation's black rhino population from 20,000 in 1970 to fewer than 300. Driven by a fear that they might disappear completely, Edward worked his way up the ranks to become the head of Lewa's anti-poaching unit. In 2015, his team’s community-minded approach to conservation won him the first Wildlife Ranger Award from conservation charity Tusk. While a rhino hasn't been killed by poachers in Lewa since 2020, the threat endures.
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KEN_2024_07_Meet the Kenyan ranger finding new ways to fight poaching_National Geographic.pdf | 70.94 KB |
South Africa, where 79% of the world's rhinos live, said it aims to come up with a plan by the end of 2030 to dismantle an almost half-century ban on trading the endangered animals' horns. The proposal, contained in a draft of the country's first rhino biodiversity-management plan released late Tuesday, is controversial because poaching of the animals for their horns has decimated their populations across Africa. The horns are ground into powder and sold in east Asia where they are falsely believed to cure cancer and other ailments.
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SA_2024_06_SA sets target for plan to lift ban on rhino_horn trade_News24.pdf | 155.71 KB |
A government proposal to exclude South African National Parks from having to get environmental authorisation for some developments in the Kruger National Park has slipped in almost unnoticed. Just five responses were received to this proposal that was gazetted by Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) Minister Barbara Creecy in mid-February, with a public comment period of 40 days.
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SA_2024_05_New proposal puts Kruger National Parks environmental safeguards at risk_News24.pdf | 1.55 MB |
Three Botswana citizens who after they were found guilty, admitted in an appeal application hearing on Wednesday, 24 April, in the High Court in Kimberley that they illegally crossed the border with illegal ammunition to illegally hunt rhinos on a Northern Cape farm. An accomplice of theirs died in a shootout with the farm workers and game rangers. In March, acting judge Cordelia Kgopa found they must have foreseen that someone would die during their raid and found them guilty of the murder of K.J. Matshetse, their accomplice. He died in the crossfire.
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SA_2024-04_Rhino poachers appeal dismissed in Kimberley High Court_News24.pdf | 505.56 KB |
Two men who were found with abalone worth over R6,5 million in Welgemoed have been slapped with hefty fines. The two Chinese nationals, Chaoyuan He (28) and Jie Jun Liang (27), entered into a plea agreement with the state last Monday 15 April at the Khayelitsha Priority Court. This follows a lengthy investigation which started in October 2021 when members of the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team based in Bellville, Crime Intelligence Counter Narcotics and Gangs Western Cape as well as Department of Forestry, Fishery and the Environment searched a premises in…
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SA_2024_04_Two fined for R6_5m abalone seizure in Welgemoed_News24.pdf | 510.42 KB |
Police arrest six suspected rhino poachers in Limpopo and Gauteng; recover horns, guns and ammunition.
One of Algoa Bay’s most valuable resources is being poached and plundered at an alarming rate. Nelson Mandela Bay has experienced a string of perlemoen-related incidents over the past few days, with experts in the field saying the illegal trade of this protected shellfish is now at an all-time high.
The Skukuza regional court on Friday sentenced a Mozambican national Joshua Mongwe to six years' imprisonment for poaching-related offences. The accused, 29, pleaded guilty to the offence and was subsequently convicted of trespassing in the Kruger National Park, contravention of Immigration Act, possession of ammunition.
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SA_2023_12_Man found with rifle in Kruger National Park gets six_year jail term_Herald Live.pdf | 148.94 KB |
Two poachers of protected plants received prison sentence on Friday, 1 December in the Springbok Magistrate's Court. The Namakwa District Management welcome the sentence that was handed down to Benedict Beukes (28) and Quinton Steenkamp (30). Beukes and Steenkamp were arrested by the Springbok Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit (Stesu) on 1 December 2020 on the N7 near Springbok when they were found in possession of Conophytum pellucidum and Conophytum pagea plants worth about R100 000.
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SA_2023_12_Two men sentenced for poaching protected plants_News24.pdf | 261.31 KB |
The consequences for local ecosystems and communities are serious, [including the] deterioration of natural capital, social stability and cohesion; extinction of animal species; and erosion of sustainable economic development. South Africa is home to the world's largest rhino population and is a key source for the illicit supply chain. In the first six months of this year, 231 rhinos were killed in South African game reserves. Of these, 143 were in KwaZulu-Natal.
A former field ranger, tasked with protecting wildlife, has been sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment for killing a rhino in the Nwanetsi section of the Kruger National Park in 2020. Eckson Musa Matumbu was sentenced at the Skukuza Regional Court on Friday. According to the South African National Parks (SANParks), Matumbu was arrested in February 2020 for killing a rhino with an official firearm issued to him and using non-issued ammunition. He was initially granted bail, which was later cancelled; the case was remanded to October 2023 for conviction and…
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SA_2023_11_Former Kruger National Park field ranger sentenced to 10 years for rhino killing_News24.pdf | 158.94 KB |
Gqeberha police arrested a 28-year-old man on Wednesday after allegedly discovering perlemoen with an estimated street value of R3m in the bakkie he was driving.
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SA_2023_11_Man_28_ found with perlemoen worth R3m_Herald Live.pdf | 187.89 KB |
Protea poaching on the slopes of Table Mountain remains a concern and local authorities are calling on the public to report perpetrators. There has been a slight increase in the number of protea poaching incidents in the Vredehoek area this year compared to previous years. The Table Mountain National Park has partnered with the Devil's Peak Vredehoek Watch Group, police and various safety structures to conduct patrols to curb flora poaching and other illegal activities.
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SA_2023_11_Authorities issue a stern warning to protea poachers on Table Mountain_News24.pdf | 347.91 KB |
The Endangered Wildlife Trust's (EWT) plant detection dog, which is trained to detect succulent plants, displayed his training during a police action. Delta the dog assisted in Springbok where two males were arrested for illegal possession of 1 760 endangered plants.
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SA_2023_10_Delta the dog sniffs out succulent poaching_News24.pdf | 473.81 KB |
However, the park's key strategy to combat poaching has been to dehorn its entire rhino population - with great success. The Pilanesberg has had no poaching incidents in the three years since 2020.
After weeks of being kept in cramped spaces, deprived of food and water, many pangolins rescued from the illegal wildlife trade don't survive. But those who survive are given a second chance at some of South Africa's private game reserves, including &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal. Since 2019, &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve has successfully reintroduced several pangolins onto its property, with a number of them having bred and produced a second generation of these endangered animals.
Endangered succulent plants, valued at more than R33 000, were confiscated by members of Public Order Police (POP) last week. The police received information about a suspect travelling on a bus from Pofadder with succulent plants. Sgt Timothy Sam, police spokesperson, said the information was operationalised and a bus was searched on arrival at a garage in Springbok, during which the endangered succulent plants were found.
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SA_2023_09_SAPS operation continues to yield success across the Northern Cape_News24.pdf | 360.27 KB |
Gauteng police have seized meat carcasses hijacked from a delivery truck, guns and ammunition, blue lights and signal jammers at a property in Alexandra, Johannesburg. An elephant tusk was also found at the 7th Avenue premises during Tuesday's operation, said police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi.
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SA_2023_08_Elephant tusk_meat carcasses_guns and blue lights seized in Alex bust_Herald Live.pdf | 259.5 KB |
The Gqeberha-based economic protected resources team under the serious organised crime Investigation unit of the Hawks arrested a 43-year-old man on Friday for possession of perlemoen. The suspect joins his 10 co-accused, previously arrested in Algoa Park in May for allegedly being in possession of perlemoen, as well as running a yshing operation without a permit.
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SA_2023_08_Perlemoen suspect arrested after evading arrest for two years_Herald Live.pdf | 270.23 KB |
Rangers at South African game reserves have been implicated in supplying information to rhino poachers. This is one of the forms of corruption that the Wildlife Justice Commission says is fueling wildlife crime. However, SANParks says it is implementing measures to reduce corruption, including a polygraph testing system.
Excellent collaboration between police and security officers from a private game reserve resulted in the swift arrest of two suspects, as well as the confiscation of poaching equipment early on Friday morning 7 July. According to Col Priscilla Naidu, police spokesperson, it is alleged that at about 06:00, Port Alfred K9 members and the security officials stopped a vehicle on the R67 at Koonaprivier between Makhanda and Fort Beaufort.
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SA_2023_07_Police arrest two suspected rhino poachers_News24.pdf | 294.98 KB |
The Hawks have arrested a man in connection with the theft of 51 rhino horns. The horns were stolen from a stockpile in the North West. The man is expected to appear in court on Monday to face a charge of business robbery.
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SA_2023_07_Hawks make arrest after theft of 50 rhino horns from North West stockpile_News24.pdf | 271.19 KB |
Fifty rhino horns stolen from a stockpile in the North West will likely leave South Africa as beads, mugs, or souvenirs, experts have said. The stockpile was stolen in the early hours of Monday morning from the North West Parks and Tourism Board in Mahikeng. Reports suggest the robbers evaded security measures, alarms, security cameras and bypassed the locking mechanism of the vault. Experts have speculated that the rhino horns may already be on their way to Asian markets, based on insights into how wildlife crime syndicates operate.
Ten suspects arrested for allegedly running an illegal perlemoen operation appeared in the Gqeberha magistrate’s court on Monday. Acting on a tip-off, the Hawks' Economic Protected Resources team in Gqeberha followed up on information about perlemoen activities at a residential premises in Algoa Park. Surveillance was conducted and law enforcement was granted a warrant to execute a search on Thursday last week, leading to the discovery of an alleged illegal operation.
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SA_2023_05_Ten in court for possession of perlemoen_Herald Live.pdf | 290.01 KB |
The Wilderness Foundation has offered a reward in an effort to put the brakes on the recent spate of rhino poaching in the Eastern Cape.
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SA_2023_03_Wilderness Foundation offers reward to stop Eastern Cape rhino poaching_Herald Live.pdf | 307.41 KB |
A court in Vietnam on Tuesday sentenced a man to 13 years in prison for trafficking nearly 10 tons of endangered animal parts from Africa, including ivory and rhino horns, police said. The court in the central coastal city of Danang found Nguyen Duc Tai, 33, guilty of transporting elephant tusks, ivory, pangolin scales and lion bones from Africa to Vietnam in 2021, the police-run ministry of public security said. Trade in ivory is illegal in Vietnam but wildlife trafficking remains widespread.
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AFR_2023_02_Vietnam jails trafficker for 13 years over 10_ton haul of ivory_rhino horn_News24.pdf | 268.95 KB |
The Skukuza Regional Court has handed a 15-year sentence to a man found guilty of poaching-related offences. He was found to have illegally entered the Kruger National Park on two occasions. The second time he entered the park illegally he was out on bail for the first charge.
Two rhinos that survived a poaching attack at Schotia Safaris Private Game Reserve, near Nanaga, nearly 10 years ago were killed by poachers on Thursday. After disabling the pair of male and female white rhinos in the attack, the poachers hacked off their horns with pangas before making their escape.
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SA_2023_02_Schotia rhinos Bonnie and Clyde killed by poachers and dehorned_HeraldLive.pdf | 414.04 KB |
Elephant poaching is likely driven by need, not greed, according to findings published this month in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Fewer elephants were poached where humans were healthier and wealthier, according to researchers from Oxford University, the UN, the University of Cape Town, and other institutions who analyzed data from more than 10,000 killings over nearly two decades and across 30 African countries.
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AFR_2023_01_What drives elephant poaching Its not greed_National Geographic.pdf | 238.88 KB |
The Skukuza regional court on Thursday convicted and sentenced a man who had been arrested in the Kruger National Park on three separate occasions to an effective 32 years' imprisonment for poaching-related offences. Forster Lubisi, 43, was convicted of three counts of trespassing, two counts of possession of a prohibited firearm with a serial number obliterated, possession of ammunition, possession of a dangerous weapon, killing of a rhino and possession of an unlicensed firearm. He pleaded guilty to the crimes.
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SA_2023_01_Third time unlucky for poacher as he is sentenced to 32 years in jail_HeraldLive.pdf | 274.95 KB |
Two people accused of money laundering avoided capture during a take-down operation in Mpumalanga. They are accused of paying money into accounts of Kruger National Park field rangers and their families in return for tactical information for rhino poaching syndicates. The Hawks have urged the pair to turn themselves in.
Two men were arrested for the possession of stolen firearms, ivory and other property on Friday in Cape St Francis.
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SA_2022_11_Men nabbed with stolen firearms and ivory_HeraldLIVE.pdf | 248.71 KB |
Rhino conservation has received a major boost with the recent Gqeberha sentencing of a gang convicted of conspiring to poach rhino. The September 22 sentencing of the Chitlongo Three in the Gqeberha Regional Court, the first achieved under National Environmental Management Act "conspiracy to poach" legislation, gives SA lawmakers a lethal new weapon to pursue suspects who have often escaped prosecution in the past because of a lack of evidence.
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SA_2022_10_Rhino poaching conspiracy ruling boosts conservation efforts_HeraldLive.pdf | 490.73 KB |
Singapore authorities have made their biggest ever seizure of rhino horn with a $830 000 (almost R15 million) haul confiscated from a smuggler arriving from South Africa, officials said Wednesday. The city-state's National Parks Board said 20 pieces of horn weighing a total of 34 kilograms were discovered Tuesday in two bags at Singapore Changi Airport. The contraband was detected by sniffer dogs and belonged to a passenger travelling onward to Laos, the board said, adding that the suspect had been arrested.
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SA_2022_10_Singapore seizes South African rhino horn worth R15 million from smuggler_News24.pdf | 412.48 KB |
Private game reserves are buckling under the costs of keeping rhinos safe from poachers. This as the trend shows poachers have set their sights on private reserves. More than 250 rhinos were poached in the first half of the year.
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SA_2022_09_Rhino poaching hits private game reserves in the pocket_News24.pdf | 549.59 KB |
The number of rhinos being poached in Namibia, home to the world's second-biggest population of the animals, is surging with the government and environmental non-profits suspecting that international syndicates are shifting their focus from South Africa. In the 12 months to the end of August, 74 rhinos were killed illegally, compared with just 16 in the first eight months of 2021, according to government statistics.
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SA_2022_09_Rhino poaching rises in Namibia as population falls in South Africa_News24.pdf | 246.83 KB |
Rhino conservation groups say a collaborative, cross-border approach is needed to stop poaching. South Africa lost 259 rhinos to poaching in the first half of the year. Private game reserves are increasingly targeted by poachers, forcing them to increase security measures.
The rhino's survival remains in grave danger despite Covid-19-related drops in poaching and the illegal trade in their horns, a conservation body said on Monday. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said that poaching was still "an acute threat" to the survival of the species. A total of 2 707 rhinos were poached in Africa between 2018 and 2021, according to the IUCN, the vast majority of which were killed in South Africa, mainly in the Kruger National Park. South Africa is home to nearly 80 percent of the world's rhinos.
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SA_2022_08_Poaching horn trade declining but rhinos still threatened_News24.pdf | 597.84 KB |
More than 30kg of rhino horn was seized from a female passenger at OR Tambo International Airport after customs officials received a tip-off. But this is by far not the biggest haul - one delivery headed for Malaysia was just shy of 170kg. SARS says more 450kg of rhino horn has been seized from would-be smugglers at OR Tambo alone since mid-2020.
Four people have been arrested for trying to sell a pangolin for R250 000. They were arrested at a North West mall while attempting to find a buyer. The pangolin was found in their car and taken to safety.
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SA_2022_04_Four bust at North West mall trying to sell pangolin for R250 000_News24.pdf | 346.36 KB |
Four suspected poachers have been arrested. Two were found in the Kruger National Park on Monday and the other two were arrested on Tuesday. This week, two other men were sentenced to 19 years in prison after they were arrested for poaching.
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SA_2022_04_4 men arrested in connection with separate Kruger National Park poaching incidents_News24.pdf | 353.27 KB |
Two men have been sentenced to 44 years' imprisonment for rhino poaching. They have also been found guilty of possession of four rhino horns. Their sentences will run concurrently.
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SA_2022_04_Two men sentenced to 44 years imprisonment for rhino poaching_News24.pdf | 366.92 KB |
Five people found guilty of rhino poaching and related charges were handed down sentences ranging from 16 years to 18 years behind bars.
Two rhino poachers have been sentenced to an effective 19 years' imprisonment for a 2019 poaching incident in the Kruger National Park. The Regional Court in Skukuza in Mpumalanga sentenced Micheal Chauke, 57, and Americo Mathonsi, 59, on Thursday. The men were found to have killed two rhinos on 22 May 2019, said police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli.
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SA_2022_02_Poachers handed effective 19_year sentence for killing two rhinos_News24.pdf | 664.84 KB |
A police sting operation has led to the arrest of two Gauteng men who allegedly tried to sell a lion's head in the North West. The men were arrested after a police agent intercepted their plan. They were allegedly looking for a traditional healer to buy the animal's head for R350 000.
In the war on poaching, some of the best defenders have four legs. Trained canines are used in some of South Africa's national parks to detect wildlife contraband like rhino horns, pangolin scales, and ivory at airports and roadblocks. Other dogs are trained to track and apprehend poachers in the field. According to Save the Rhino, 9,885 rhinos have been lost to poaching in the last decade. But Carl Thornton, founder and director of Pit-Track K9 Conservation and Anti-Poaching Unit, says the numbers are likely much higher.
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SA_2021_11_How Dogs Are Fighting Rhino Poaching_Treehugger.pdf | 574.43 KB |
Poachers have turned to snare trapping to capture animals in the Kruger National Park, including some endangered species, and use poisoned carcases to lure them. Many of the trapped animals die and their carcasses rot. Rangers and other officials have been combing through the 19 485 km² Kruger National Park, which houses the country's Big Five, in search of injured and trapped animals. Poachers have targeted almost all sections of the park. Wild dogs, lions and small antelopes are some of the animals that have been trapped.
A wildlife nature reserve covering Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Angola will undertake a loose elephant census next year at the cost of $3 million. The aerial survey by the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) directorate will help in managing elephants that freely roam across member states. "The elephant population of KAZA represents more than 50% of the remaining savanna elephants (Loxodonta Africana) found in Africa, a species recently listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as globally endangered.
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SA_2021_11_Census to shed light on elephant population in southern Africa_News24.pdf | 327.21 KB |
Five men have been arrested in the Western Cape in connection with the illegal possession of more than 5 600 succulents. The arrests were the result of an integrated operation between the police, Malmesbury Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit and Cape Nature, said police spokesperson Sergeant Luqmaan Adams on Thursday. "The suspects were arrested after they were stopped and searched on the N7 close to Vanrhynsdorp.
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SA_2021_10_Five arrested for allegedly poaching Western Cape succulents_News24.pdf | 269.77 KB |
Three men accused of rhino poaching have each been sentenced to an effective 35 years in jail. They were found in possession of rhino horn valued at R1.5 million. The accused were found to have killed three female rhinos in 2018.
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SA_2021_10_Three poachers get an effective 35 years behind bars for killing 3 female rhinos_News24.pdf | 431.48 KB |