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The Skukuza regional court on Monday sentenced Friday Ngobeni to 10 years' imprisonment for poaching-related offences from six years ago. The court convicted Ngobeni, 45, of trespassing, possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition, conspiracy to commit an offence, possession of a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm with the serial number obliterated. On November 29 2017, rangers were patrolling in the Kruger National Park in a helicopter at Stols Nek and spotted Ngobeni and his co-accused Mastel Ngobeni, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said…

The Nkayi Rural District Council has been urged to tighten its monitoring systems to stop the illegal harvesting of timber by companies as the natural resource is not benefiting local communities. Nkayi South Member of Parliament Jabulani Hadebe said there were no mechanisms in place to protect natural resources in the Matabeleland North district.

A 26-year-old gold panner from village 8, Inyathi, Matabeleland North province has appeared at the Bulawayo Magistrates Courts for killing a kudu valued at US$1 500.

Two Zimbabweans, who were recently arrested for illegal possession of a pangolin and illegally entering Botswana, have been jailed four years each.

Three Bulawayo residents have been dragged to court over illegal possession of a pangolin worth US$5 000.

There is a resurgence of poaching activities targeting rhinos at Matobo National Park, which threatens to reverse gains made over the years to protect the endangered species. Matobo National Park in Matabeleland South has one of the highest rhino populations in the country. Six poaching incidents have been reported at the game reserve this year, according to Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) Matabeleland South regional manager Midwell Kapesa. Zimbabwe holds the fourth largest population of rhinos in Africa with 616 black rhinos and 417 white…

Pangolin trafficking in the Bronkhorstspruit area is at an all-time high. Three of these animals were rescued in the Bronkhorstspruit and Cullinan area in September, while court cases in which pangolin traffickers are being prosecuted are also underway in both the Bronkhorstspruit Regional Court and the Cullinan Regional Court.

Last week's sting operation not only saved a young female Temminck's pangolin from the clutches of poachers, but her unborn pangopup too.

When it comes to protecting our rhinos from poachers, there's not a one-size-fits-all solution. There are several ways that national parks, game reserves and organisations are fighting rhino poaching, from fitting rhinos with tracking devices, having anti-poaching units on the ground actively monitoring them, rhino dehorning, education drives, and more. And these do not happen in isolation either, as often a combination of methods are needed to successfully deter poachers. Naturally, all of these hero organisations doing the hard work protecting our rhinos need funds to operate…

A wildlife trafficker softly cried upon being sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for illegal possession of and trying to sell a pangolin. Zimbabwean national Tichaona Chifamba (41) appeared and pleaded guilty before Regional Magistrate Victor Ball in the Secunda Regional Court on Thursday, March 24. He was caught in an intelligence-driven operation on August 3 last year while peddling a Temminck's pangolin in the parking lot of A and E Hyperworld in Trichardt.

A Kuruman man was convicted for being in possession of R250,000 worth of pangolin scales and the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition by the Kuruman magistrate's court on Friday. John Henry Rautenbach, 25, was arrested by the Hawks’ serious organised crime investigation unit in August last year after the unit received information that an illegal firearm was being kept at an address in the Northern Cape.