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.
Poaching and illegal coal mining threaten the future of Matabeleland's elephant population. Nokuthaba Mathema investigates Ivory stockpile: The elephant herds of Matabeleland are primary targets of ‘sponsored poaching’ with the collusion of state officials, says one expert. Photo: AP/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi In the shadows of Zimbabwe’s environmental management lies a devastating truth: environmental crimes, such as poaching, illegal wildlife trade and illicit coal mining continue to afflict Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland province in the south-west of the country.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
ZIM_2024_06_Silent extinction_ Zimbabwes hotbed of environmental crime_Oxpeckers.pdf | 775.81 KB |
A man arrested for allegedly being in possession of two elephant tusks at the Buffalo checkpoint in the Mukwe Constituency on Friday, made his first appearance in the Rundu Magistrate’s Court on Monday. Lihako Sishwama, 31, appeared before magistrate Selma Shiiga, who granted him bail of N$10,000. According to the charge sheet, Sishwama was arrested during a special police operation in the Mukwe Constituency. He faces a charge of dealing in and being in possession of controlled wildlife products. The charge sheet did not reveal the value of the two elephant tusks.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2023_01_Man arrested with elephant tusks granted bail_NBC.pdf | 228.07 KB |
A special court established in Uganda, called the Standards, Utilities and Wildlife Court, was "critical to the country's economic development", then Chief Justice Bart Katureebe noted at its launch in 2017. "Access to justice in this area has the capacity to promote investment in critical areas of the economy, protection of the environment, public health and ethical trade practices," he said. Between July 2020 and June 2021, the court handled 468 wildlife crime cases.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
UGA_2022_07_Ugandas special court clamps down on wildlife crime_Oxpeckers.pdf | 1021.64 KB |
Pangolin was the most trafficked high-value protected species according to the 2020 Annual Report on the Combatting of Wildlife Crime released last week. According to the report, only one pangolin of the 74 seized by the law enforcement agencies was alive while 129 of these nocturnal animals were poached in 2019. The report emphasised that law enforcement relating to pangolin poaching and trafficking represent a major challenge because the animals are largely collected opportunistically. However, transboundary intelligence collaboration has led to the…
Oscar Nkala talks to a jailed Zambian elephant poacher about the structure, financing and operations of cross-border smuggling gangs.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
Oxpeckers_Confessions of an ivory poacher.pdf | 244.99 KB |
Depending on your views about legal trade in wildlife products, the past week was either a good week or a very good week for Namibian conservation, writes John Grobler.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
Oxpeckers_Namibia diaries the good_the bad_the ugly.pdf | 2.66 MB |
Oxpeckers Associate Shi Yi set out to investigate Chinese links in Namibia’s poaching crisis, and ended up in the middle of a sting operation that nabbed a former policeman.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
Oxpeckers_Namibias secret ivory business.pdf | 265.83 KB |
Namibia has enjoyed a good reputation for its nature conservation, but there is evidence the illegal trade in wildlife products is thriving. The smuggling hotspot is the Zambezi border region, where five Southern Africa countries intersect. Hongxiang Huang travelled to Zambezi to investigate.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
Oxpeckers_Spotlight on Zambezis poaching problem.pdf | 252.1 KB |