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The State alleges that Hume, in association with his five alleged co-conspirators, knew or ought to have known that their enterprise 'uses or invests, directly or indirectly (Hume's) rhino horns, other rhino horns and rhino skins to fuel the illegal market'. A dark shadow has been cast around the "conservation hero" mantle of South African rhino baron John Hume following sensational allegations that he purchased or purloined the identity documents of several indigent people as part of an elaborate scheme to fraudulently circumvent a 50-year-old global ban on the rhino horn trade…

When birds become entangled, the fishing line often becomes tight, stopping the flow of blood, resulting in swelling and eventually foot or toe loss. This also means that the entangled birds can no longer roost on tree branches at night as they no longer have the capability to clasp onto the branch when the wind blows.

Mozambican national Nelson Sandile Sambo has been jailed for 20 years for rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park. Sambo (43) was arrested by SA National Parks field rangers in December 2020 after he and an accomplice shot and then hacked off the horns of two rhinos in the Stolznek section of the park. Sambo and Gabriel Chauke were granted bail soon after their arrest, but both suspects promptly jumped bail. While Chauke remains at large, Sambo was re-arrested in 2023 and has now been jailed for 20 years after he pleaded guilty to several charges in the Skukuza Regional Court…

The country's uncontrolled growth of the seal population is a direct result of quota holders focusing only on harvesting bulls for their genitals, leaving the rest of theanimal, including the meat and valuable by-products, unused due to lack of a market. This is what the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on natural resources, Tjekero Tweya, said in parliament on Monday during the presentation of the committee's findings. He argued that the current system benefits only a handful of investors, while ignoring the potential for industrial development.

Vietnam's apparent reluctance to share DNA samples of smuggled horns with South Africa - the country with the largest remaining populations of rhinos in the world, albeit decimated by a relentless wave of poaching over recent decades - has been criticised by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Listen to this article 11 min Listen to this article 11 min Vietnam has come under fire for its 'passive approach' to sharing crucial evidence that could help South African forensic experts trace the exact origin of horns smuggled…

Vietnam's apparent reluctance to share DNA samples of smuggled horns with South Africa - the country with the largest remaining populations of rhinos in the world, albeit decimated by a relentless wave of poaching over recent decades - has been criticised by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

President Nangolo Mbumba has announced the establishment of 27 new boreholes across the Kavango West region's six constituencies in a bid to tackle water scarcity and human-wildlife conflict. Additionally, two traditional wells in Mpungu constituency have been upgraded to relieve communities grappling with these persistent challenges. Speaking at a Swapo rally in Mupini over the weekend, Mbumba highlighted the party's efforts to improve living conditions in the region, one of the country’s youngest regions.

The dehorning project in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozirhino sanctuary in KwaZulu-Natal has suffered asetback, with at least 20 dehorned animals gunneddown for their remnant horn stumps over the pastmonth. E (right) collect blood samples prior to the dehorning of another rhinoin Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve. The dehorning project in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozirhino sanctuary in KwaZulu-Natal has suffered asetback, with at least 20 dehorned animals gunneddown for their remnant horn stumps over the past month. 

Fifteen years after South Africa was hit by an unprecedented wave of rhino-horn poaching, the slaughter rate remains relentless - with one rhino shot almost every day in KwaZulu-Natal, the historic heartland of global rhino conservation. More than 60% of the rhinos killed in South Africa so far in 2023 drew their last breaths in KwaZulu-Natal as poachers continue to shift more of their deadly firepower and axes to the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, one of the world’s last strongholds of wild rhino conservation. Latest poaching …

Six Zimbabwean nationals, found guilty of rhino poaching, appeared at the Makhanda High Court on Wednesday, 14 June 2023, for their long-awaited sentencing. The six felons were first arrested in July 2018. Almost five years after their arrest, Francis Chitiyo, Trymore Chauke, Misheck Chauke, Simba Masinge, Nhamo Muyambo, and Abraham Moyane have been sentenced to between 16 to 20 years for conspiracy to kill rhinos so that they could steal their horns and for possession of an unlawful firearm and ammunition.

The Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife conservation agency has, up till now, opted to not dehorn its rhinos to protect them from poachers. But that could change soon, following another year of relentless killings in which the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park emerged as the current rhino poaching hotspot, globally. The latest poaching figures released by national Environment Minister Barbara Creecy show that 244 rhinos were killed by horn poachers in KwaZulu-Natal in 2022 - the vast majority of them in the HIP.

'n Vermeende stroper is Sondag op die plaas Kaliombo in die Karibib-omgewing in die been geskiet. Volgens die Namibiese polisie se misdaadverslag het die 65-jarige plaaseienaar omstreeks 23:45 die honde hoor blaf. Veiligheidswagte van K-Sapu het hom ingelig oor vermeende stropers op sy eiendom. Die boer het ondersoek gaan instel en drie mans met vleis gewaar. Die verdagtes was met assegaaie en 'n byl gewapen. Hulle het ook drie honde by hulle gehad. Die verdagtes het na bewering probeer om die boer aan te val.

A farmer shot and wounded a suspected poacher in the leg at farm Kaliombo in the Karibib district on Sunday. It is alleged the farmer acted in self-defence, after a group of alleged poachers attempted to attack him after he discovered them on his farm. According to a crime update provided by the Namibian police, the farm owner (65) was alerted to possible intruders (65) when he heard dogs barking on Sunday at about 23:45. He was also notified about suspected poachers on his farm by security guards from K-Sapu Security and Anti-Poaching.

Just as the barbarity of war in Ukraine or the global climate crisis gradually lose their shock value, the unrelenting massacre of South Africa’s rhino has all but drifted from public view. Behind the scenes, however, at least 75 rhinos have been butchered for their horns in KwaZulu-Natal in the opening months of 2022.

Shocking official statistics have emerged which show that the world's single-largest population of rhinos - those living in the flagship Kruger National Park - has been slashed by between 66% and 70% over the past decade, mainly due to the unrelenting wave of butchery by international hornpoaching syndicates.