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.
In a recent incident in Katombora, Middle Zambezi Valley, two suspected poachers met a fatal end after engaging in a firefight with Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife (Zimparks) rangers. The confrontation resulted in the deaths of the poachers, while three others were apprehended. The rangers acted swiftly to protect wildlife and recovered 15 elephant tusks, along with a rifle and ammunition.
It could have been the proverbial pot of gold. Instead, it became at best, an opportunity lost in the fight against transnational organized wildlife crime. On February 2, a Nairobi area court acquitted Hoang Thi Diu, a female of apparent Vietnamese/Chinese dual citizenship, of charges relating to the dealing and possession of 145 kilograms of ivory, rhino horn, lion's teeth, and claws. Objectively, and considering the evidence before the court, the verdict was not incorrect.
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ZIM_2024_01_Zimbabwe_Trio arrested for poaching_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 90.15 KB |
Botswana and Namibia have embarked on a joint investigation into the increased incidents of elephant poaching in the northern part of Botswana. "The country (Botswana) experienced a surge in elephant poaching incidents during November and December 2023," Lesego Kgomanyane, the spokesperson for Botswana's Ministry of Environment and Tourism, told Xinhua over the telephone, noting that the development has shone the light on the apparent increase in poaching of elephants in northern Botswana.
Namibia experienced a decrease in rhino poaching this year, registering 42 cases compared to 87 the previous year, but saw an increase in elephant poaching, reaching eight cases, up from four the year before, an official said Monday. In an interview with Xinhua, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said that while rhino poaching numbers have decreased by half, elephant poaching numbers are on the rise. "Poaching is dynamic. While we are winning the fight against the illegal killing of rhinos, elephant poaching is picking up," he said.
At least 35 suspected poachers have been arrested after being implicated in the killing of five elephants in Ruaha National Park in Tanzania's central region of Iringa. Halima Dendego, the Iringa regional commissioner, said late Wednesday that the suspects were apprehended during a joint anti-poaching operation conducted from Nov. 11 to Nov. 20. The operation was collaboratively undertaken by game rangers from the Ruaha National Park, Iringa region officials, the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services, and the police, Dendego said.
Two men were on Tuesday arrested while trafficking 36 pieces of elephant tusks weighing 77 kilogrammes valued at Sh12 million in Maralal, Samburu county.
Tawanda Kakora of Nyamaropa Village in Mt Darwin will spend the next nine years in jail afer he was arrested while trying to sell a live pangolin. Kakora (34) of Nyamaradzo Village under Chief Nembire was sentenced to a mandatory nine-year jail term afer being convicted on charges of possession or selling a live pangolin. In passing sentence, Bindura magistrate Mrs Nomgugu Sibanda said there were no special circumstances warranting the court to be lenient. The prosecutor, Mr Carson Kundiona proved that on September 30, detectives from…
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ZIM_2023_11_Mt darwin man caged 9 years for pangolin_The Herald.pdf | 306.39 KB |
Nigerian environmental activists have hailed the federal government's decision to publicly destroy a sizable amount of wildlife products that were seized, such as crocodile skins, pangolin scales, leopard skins, and python skins, as a clear indication of the end of an era marked by various forms of impunity against the safekeeping of wildlife.
The High Court in Malawi has rejected Chinese wildlife trafficking convict Lin Yun Hua's appeal against his 14- year sentence which was handed to him by Lilongwe Magistrate Court. Lin appealed against the conviction and the sentence but the High Court has rejected the appeal because it was filed outside the required period. Lin received 14 years in 2021 for dealing in rhino horn, alongside 14 years for possession of rhino horn and six years for money laundering.
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MAL_2023_11_Malawi High Court rejects Chinese convicts appeal_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 271.42 KB |
The accused were arrested on November 16, 2022, by the officers from Benoni K9 with the assistance of the Pretoria K9 after they were found in possession of three elephant tusks (ivory) at Oriental Plaza Burna.
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ZIM_2023_10_Cop in trouble over USS 15K pangolin skins_The Herald.pdf | 179.34 KB |
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ZIM_2023_10_Live pangolin lands Mt Darwin man in trouble_The Herald.pdf | 213.44 KB |
The courts have intensified the fight to combat breaches of wildlife laws with the Harare Magistrates Court dedicating Court 5 to deal with such issues, acting Deputy Prosecutor General Mr Michael Reza said yesterday. He told the Zimbabwe Animal Law conference in Harare yesterday that since the beginning of the year, nine cases have been completed while 12 new cases have been recorded. From January 2020 to date, 45 cases involving breaches of the parks and wildlife law have been prosecuted at the Harare Magistrates Court, and Mr …
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ZIM_2023_09_Court intensify fight aganst wildlife crimes_The Herald.pdf | 233.14 KB |
Cairo International Airport customs officers arrested two foreign passengers, from Lebanon and Spain, who had attempted to smuggle ivory and drugs, respectively, into the country. In the first case, customs officers manually inspected the luggage of a passenger arriving from the Lebanese capital, Beirut, and found pieces of ivory - the hard, white material of elephant tusks - weighing 16 kg. Egyptian customs authorities said that it is prohibited to possess and trade ivory in accordance with Ministerial Resolution No.
The Standards, Utilities and Wildlife Court at the Buganda Road in Kampala has sentenced two men to five years in jail over illegal possession of ivory. Chief Magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu sentenced Robert Ecat and Charles Kanyenya to five years or a fine of shillings five million after they pleaded guilty to illegally possessing ivory weighing 10.65kg.
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UGA_2023_08_Uganda_Two jailed over illegal possession of ivory_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 164.75 KB |
Six suspected poachers have been arrested in separate incidents in Bulawayo and Victoria Falls with the police recovering four ivory tusks and 10,5kg of kudu meat. The arrest comes afer the police declared war on poaching syndicates countrywide. In a statement, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrests.
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ZIM_2023_07_Six suspected poachers arrested in Bulawayo and Vic falls_The Herald.pdf | 188.77 KB |
Corruption is the air that wildlife crime breathes; it is one of the key enablers of widespread and large-scale wildlife trafficking and one of the biggest obstacles to effective law enforcement. This is according to the Wildlife Justice Commission’s new report focusing on the role of corruption as one of the most important enabling factors behind wildlife crime. The report, "Dirty Money: The Role of Corruption in Enabling Wildlife Crime", presents a collection of case examples to illustrate the mechanisms and modalities of corruption in real terms - how it…
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AFR_2023_07_Research details how corruption fuels wildlife crimes_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 662.79 KB |
Two suspected poachers believed to be part of a syndicate involved in wildlife crimes have been arrested in Chiredzi and police recovered pangolin scales, lion teeth and hyena teeth.
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ZIM_2023_06_Suspected poachers remanded in custody_The Herald.pdf | 275.08 KB |
Two suspected poachers who were selling four ivory tusks have appeared in court.
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ZIM_2023_06_Suspected ivory poachers in court_The Herald.pdf | 714.45 KB |
At least five elephants were shot and stripped of their tusks in early April 2023 in southern Chad. Shocked by this wildlife crime, the organisation SOS Elephants of Chad is calling on the government to act firmly against the resurgence of poaching of Chad’s endangered elephants.
Vietnam has seized 11.8 kilograms of rhino horns and 4.7 kilograms of elephant ivory in checked-in luggage on a flight from Qatar, Vietnam News Agency reported on Thursday. Customs officers at Noi Bai international airport in Vietnam’s capital of Hanoi found the smuggled rhino horns and ivory in 41 packages wrapped in aluminum foil in two sets of luggage of a Vietnamese man who had traveled from Angola, transited through Doha, Qatar, and arrived in Vietnam on Tuesday. The seizure came after a random check, and the luggage owner claimed that a person had paid him 50…
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VIETNAM_2023_04_Vietnam seizes 16 kg of smuggled rhino horns_ivory_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 193.09 KB |
Four individuals involved in the illegal trafficking of four ivory tips were arrested on April 5 and 6, 2023 in Makokou, a town in northeastern Gabon. The elephant population in Gabon remains threatened despite regular ivory seizures by Water and Forestry agents. This observation has led civil society to explore actions upstream of the ivory trade process. In Gabon, efforts to fight crime related to protected wildlife species have just resulted in new arrests.
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GAB_2023_04_Four suspected ivory traffickers arrested in Makokou_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 230.77 KB |
Three suspected poachers have been detained by Tanzanian police after they were found in possession of six elephant tusks in the country's northern region of Manyara, police said on Saturday.
Singapore: The director of a trading firm was sentenced to 10 months' jail on Wednesday (Feb 15) for importing 1,787 pieces of elephant tusks from Africa into Singapore, en route to Vietnam. The tusks of the endangered species weighed 3,480kg and were found in a 40-foot container at Pasir Panjang Scanning Station in March 2018. Vietnam national and Singapore permanent resident Dao Thi Boi, 40, had claimed trial to the charge under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act. She was the director of VNSG Trading and Song Hong Trading and Logistics at the…
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AFR_2023_02_Trading firm director gets jail over import of tusks_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 154.92 KB |
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ZIM_2023_02_Five arrested for possession of ivory_The Herald.pdf | 370.26 KB |
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ZIM_2023_02_30 poachers arrested_15 guns recovered in Kariba_The Herald.pdf | 566.81 KB |
Data from the Kenya Wildlife Service indicates that between 2014 and 2022, dogs led to the documentation of 102 incidents of wildlife trafficking. About 114 people linked to these incidents were arrested and prosecuted during the period. "The dogs are key in deterring these crimes. These cases have gone down because traffickers are now aware of the strict security deployed in our borders, airports, and even ports.
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KEN_2023_01_Poaching and trafficking up_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 263.3 KB |
t's a grim and all too common sight for rangers at some of Africa’s nature reserves: the bullet-riddled carcass of an elephant, its tusks removed by poachers. African elephant populations have fallen by about 30% since 2006. Poaching has driven the decline. Some reserves, like Garamba in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Selous in Tanzania, have lost hundreds of elephants to poachers over the last decade. But others, like Etosha National Park in Namibia, have been targeted far less.
The government has put poachers at the Maasai Mara game reserve on notice after it emerged that five elephants and three giraffes were killed under mysterious circumstances over the past two months. Narok County Commissioner Isaac Masinde while addressing the Jamhuri day celebrations at Oldekesi Secondary School in Narok West Sub County said the three giraffes had their reproductive organs chopped off raising suspicion over the intention of the poachers.
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KEN_2022_12_ State Puts Mara Poachers on Notice_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 194.29 KB |
A South African immigrant Brent Johan Lunt was yesterday acquitted on charges involving possession of
four rhino horns worth US$240 000 without a licence after the High Court found merit in his application for
review of the trial court proceedings that put him on his defence even though the horns had not been proved
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SA_SA man cleared of rhino horn possession charges_The Herald.pdf | 90.94 KB |
Extinction is probably a rarely used term in your vocabulary - perhaps only in primary school when referring to the dinosaurs - and certainly never applied to the modern day. But subtly, slowly our rare fauna are being erased and some have even already disappeared: although not as drastic as a meteor, we are witnessing extinction. The act of poaching is defined as the illegal capturing or killing of wild animals and is a prominent practice in South Africa, particularly due to the wildlife that can be found there.
The multi-billion-dollar industry of illegally trafficking wildlife was front and center in federal court on Tuesday morning. The Homeland Security investigation led to two foreign nationals being arrested in Edmonds in November of 2021. On Tuesday, Herdade Lokua learned he would spend the next 20 months in prison, and Jospin Mujangi was sentenced to 14 months. The investigation led to the seizure of $3.5 million worth of elephant ivory, white rhinoceros horn, and pangolin scales.
The use of social media has allowed smugglers of wildlife products to expand their network's reach using Rwanda as a transit route, experts say.
Confiscated ivory from elephants killed more than 30 years ago has turned up in recent raids, say scientists. The tusks were once part of a stockpile seized from poachers and held in sealed containers by the government of Burundi. In this study, researchers used DNA and carbon dating techniques to show that some of that stored material is now in the hands of smugglers.
Hwange National Park, once a favourite hunting ground for poachers, has not lost an elephant to the illegal hunters for the past two years largely because of partnerships between the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) and non-governmental organisations. In 2013, over 300 elephants were killed by poachers at the country’s largest game reserve as the menace reached its peak. Poachers, who included villagers from rural outposts such as Tsholotsho and Hwange used cyanide to kill the elephants for their ivory.
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ZIM_2022_09_Conservationists help tackle poaching in Hwange_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 371.87 KB |
There is growing concern that Nigeria, in recent years, has become a primary transit hub for several illicit wildlife and forest products.
The Gabonese authorities have just arrested an alleged wildlife trafficker. The latter was caught in the act of holding and selling about twenty kilograms of ivory. In Gabon, elephants are protected by the wildlife law in force.
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GAB_2022_08_Alleged ivory trafficker arrested in Fougamou_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 131.6 KB |
Despite huge seizures, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is still battling smugglers from China, Vietnam and some South East Asian countries using Nigerian ports and porous borders as transit hub for the transshipment of pangolin scales and ivory. Shipments of pangolin scales intercepted and reported by Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) between 2010 and September 2021 has been put at 190,407 kilogrammes. It was gathered that some seizures in ports of Hong Kong, China, Vietnam and other parts of South East Asia valued at $1.5 billion were traced to Nigeria.
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NIG_2022_08_Breaking yoke of illegal wildlife trafficking_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 228.58 KB |
In Victoria Falls, police have arrested Listed Munkuli (35), Kudakwashe Ndlovu (31), Darlington Moyo (35) and Simon Nyoni (45) for unlawful possession of ivory at Mhizha Turn-off in the Matsetsi area. Two elephant tasks totalling 4,28kg, 15 lion claws and four lion teeth were recovered from the suspects. In another case, police and Zimbabwe National Parks Management Authority rangers, acting on a tip-off, arrested Evidence Moyo (22) for poaching. The suspect trapped and killed a male buffalo in the bush near the Victoria Falls dump site.
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ZIM_2022_08_Robber poachers arrested_The Herald.pdf | 230.53 KB |
Two men from Zvishavane and their friend from Goromonzi appeared in court yesterday on allegations of illegally possessing four pieces of raw Ivory worth US$6 426 they intended to trade in Harare.
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ZIM_2022_08_Trio intercepted with four pieces of ivory_The Herald.pdf | 783.95 KB |
Kigali: For many years, East African countries were considered wildlife trafficking hotspots. Now conservation organisations have started to mobilise all stakeholders to combat the illegal trade that targets animals – some to the edge of extinction.
The Nigeria Customs Services (NCS) yesterday brought seven men before the Federal High Court in Lagos for alleged illegal possession dealing, assembling, storing, smuggling and trading in pangolin skin and elephant's ivory.
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NIG_2022_07_Three Foreigners Arraigned Over Pangolin_Tusk Smuggling_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 120.91 KB |
Another man has been arrested for illegal ivory dealing, being found trying to sell 21 pieces of ivory from his house in Gutu.
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ZIM_2022_05_Ivory poacher arrested in Gutu_The Herald.pdf | 244 KB |
A 59-year-old Masvingo farmer yesterday appeared in court after he was found in possession of 52 crocodile skins worth US$78 000, without a licence.
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ZIM_2022_04_Farmer appears in court for crocodile skin possession_The Herald.pdf | 284.42 KB |
A suspected poacher was shot and killed at Malilangwe Conservancy Trust in Chiredzi during a gunfight with game scouts on Saturday and while his two accomplices escaped the scouts did recover a rifle and ammunition.
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ZIM_2022_03_Suspected poacher shot dead_The Herald.pdf | 442.17 KB |
There is an urgent need to step up the fight against wildlife crime and human-induced reduction of species, which have wide-ranging economic, environmental and social impacts in the country, Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndhlovu says.
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ZIM_2022_03_Step up fight against wildlife crime_The Herald.pdf | 291.82 KB |
Poaching is horrible not only for animals but also for the environment. However, you might be unsure of exactly why this is so. We’re here to help educate you on why poaching is bad. You will also get an answer to your question: is poaching illegal? There's a lot to learn about poaching. In addition to whether it is unlawful or not, you will also gain a basic understanding of what poaching is and why it is harmful to the world around us.
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LegalScoops_2022_02_Is Poaching Illegal_Everything You Need to Know_LegalScoops.pdf | 215.76 KB |
Poaching syndicates have killed at least two rhinoceros this month and are suspected of moving around the country targeting the animals and cutting off their horns. The rhino is targeted for its horn in the underground, illegal wildlife markets, particularly in Asia, where dubious cultural beliefs drive demand. In the latest killing, police in Bikita discovered on Sunday a carcass of a white rhino buried in a pit in a bushy area with some body parts missing
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ZIM_2022_02_Police tail poaching syndicates_The Herald.pdf | 667.4 KB |