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Until an illegal wildlife trade report was published in May 2015, Malawi's role in one of the world's largest transnational organised crimes was largely unknown. The landlocked southeast African nation - bordered by countries with large wildlife populations - was revealed to be a major trafficking hub for ivory, pangolin scales, rhino horn and other illegal wildlife commodities. Malawi's weak identification and enforcement systems were being systematically exploited by criminals to export their products to China, Vietnam and other demand countries. In response…

In Zimbabwe, where an estimated 85,000 elephants live, the fight to save vulnerable species isn’t just a full-time job-it's a lifeline. Among Zimbabwe's most dedicated anti-poachers are the Akashinga women, a radical all-female unit that patrols five former trophy hunting reserves for illegal activity. The highly-trained, quasi-military troop is an arm of the nonprofit International Anti-Poaching Foundation.

A 53-year-old villager from Dete in Matabeleland North has appeared in court for unlawful possession of four elephant tusks. Similo Vundla of Mambanje village under Chief Nekatambe was arrested by an anti-poaching team in March.

The illegal global trade in ivory has shrunk while the trafficking of pangolins has soared, a U.N.

One of the world’s most famous game reserves, Thula Thula in South Africa, has survived the Covid-19 pandemic without any loss of wild animal to poaching. Francoise Malby-Anthony, who runs the game reserve
said that she kept on all her anti-poaching staff throughout covid which prevented any animals being killed by poachers.

New research led by Elephants Without Borders (EWB) reveals that poaching of African elephants for their ivory has not decreased since 2011 in Western, Southern, and Central Africa. As a result, continued efforts to combat poaching will be necessary to save elephant populations. The new study was published June 23rd in Scientific Reports, in collaboration from researchers at the University of Washington and the Amboseli Trust for Elephants.

Zimbabwe will not pull out of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in order to sell its stockpile of ivory tusks worth US$600 million, the Minister of Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Mangaliso Ndlovu, has said.

South Africa is deliberating over a radical review of their Meat Safety Act that wildlife activists fear could "pave the way" for elephants, rhinos, giraffes and every animal listed for human consumption.

Vigilant Mtubatuba police officers arrested two suspects in Khula Village, near St Lucia, for being in possession of elephant tusks.

An extension of two weeks has been granted to the public to make submissions on the work of the high-level panel established to review policies, legislation and related practices on the management, breeding, hunting, trade and handling of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros.

Nyaradzo Hoto was just 20 when, with no money and nowhere to go, she was forced to drop out of school and get married. Over the next two years, she suffered at the hands of her violent husband; enslaved by his family, forced into hard labour, and used as a punch bag during his drunken fits of rage. But while she feared she may never escape her 'prison', Nyaradzo told LADbible how she gained the courage to find her voice and is now part of an elite squad in Zimbabwe, fighting to protect the world’s most endangered animals from extinction.

South African traders with China are illegally selling thousands of wild animals threatened with extinction and endangered, under the guise of legal exports, according to an investigation. Monkeys have been stolen from the wild, and together with cheetahs, tigers, rhinos, lions and meerkats, they have been trafficked to circuses, theme parks, laboratories, zoos and "safari parks", researchers found.

A 27-year-old Mushumbi poacher was jailed 9 years by Guruve resident magistrate Shingirai Mutiro yesterday. Alan Pagan’a of Sedze village, Chief Chisunga in Mbire pleaded guilty to the charge. Prosecutor Albert Mazhindu told the court that on May 11 members of Zimparks received a tip off that Pagan’a was selling a pair of elephant tusks. The team proceeded to Sedze village purporting to be buyers, they approached the convict and he led them to a pit where he had hid the ivory.

Residents in Seronga village in Botswana’s North-West District have been warned of poisoned elephant carcasses. The Department of Wildlife and National Parks on Friday cautioned that there are elephant mortalities recorded in the areas surrounding the villages of Seronga, Gunotsoga and Eretsha.

Parliament has recommended amendments to the Wildlife Act to provide protection for whistleblowers and ensure stiff penalties for those found in possession of cyanide, a dangerous chemical often used by poachers to poison elephants.