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A Chinese national caught with rhino horns worth over US$240,000 has been sentenced to an effective 18-year jail term. Cong Yanzhong (57) was convicted of unlawfully dealing in wildlife when he appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court for sentencing this Wednesday. He was facing two counts of wildlife trafficking. It was the State's case that on July 16, 2025, police detectives received a tip-off to the effect that a Chinese national was involved in illegal wildlife products.

In what is being treated as another poaching incident, game rangers at a private reserve near Paulpietersburg discovered two dead rhinos and a third one wounded on Monday. The horns of the two dead rhinos had been removed. This gruesome discovery follows a previous incident at the same reserve on July 25, when rhinos were also targeted by poachers. In connection with that case, three men - Simanga Mnguni (42), Betwell Baloye (27) and Muziwakhe Nkosi (38) - were arrested and scheduled to face a bail hearing in the Vryheid District Court on August 14.

African pangolins are heavily hunted to meet the international demand for scales as well as for their meat in the local bushmeat trade. But how much each contributes to the hunting of these beleaguered mammals in various parts of Nigeria, a trafficking hub, is unclear. For a recent study, researchers interviewed more than 800 hunters and meat vendors in southeast Nigeria, a poaching hotspot, and found that hunters almost always hunt pangolins opportunistically, mostly for their meat rather than their scales.

A couple of things come to mind from this state of affairs. The first is that some provincial governments did not do their jobs. The second is that there are concerns about past overestimates. After two consecutive years of growing numbers, the population of white rhinos in Africa declined significantly in 2024 in the face of poaching and other factors such as drought and past overcounts, according to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Tourism operators, however, warn of damage to rhino habitats. Ultimate Safaris secured High Court interdicts in October and December 2024 to halt mining, arguing it would threaten endangered black rhinos and harm the tourism industry. Four black rhinos were translocated to the Sorris Sorris conservancy under the Black Rhino Custodianship Scheme between 2005 and 2010, while another operator held a mining licence in the same area until 2019 without facing court action.

Rhino poaching persists despite a slight decrease worldwide over the last three years, driven by relentless demand for their horns in East Asia, according to a recent report by TRAFFIC and the IUCN. Three of the world's five rhino species are still in decline, the report finds, with white rhinos in Africa dwindling to an almost two-decade low. Greater one-horned rhinos in India and Nepal are recovering well, while Indonesia's Javan and Sumatran rhinos - both critically endangered species - continue to teeter on the brink of extinction.

Wildlife officials have hailed the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) recent decision to appeal what it called the lenient sentences handed to two rhino poachers in May, as well as the jailing this week of one of the men in a separate case.

Pretoria - Two men, Junior Chauke aged 49 and Prince Ntsako Letswele, aged 33 were remanded in custody by the Ermelo Magistrate’s Court after they were arrested for alleged possession of rhino horn. Hawks' spokesperson in Mpumalanga Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said the duo was arrested after police received information about a vehicle with the occupants in possession of firearms, reportedly driving towards Ermelo.

Two people accused of money laundering avoided capture during a take-down operation in Mpumalanga. They are accused of paying money into accounts of Kruger National Park field rangers and their families in return for tactical information for rhino poaching syndicates. The Hawks have urged the pair to turn themselves in.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Amara Cherif, a/k/a "Bamba Issiaka," a citizen of Guinea, was sentenced to 57 months for conspiring to traffic in millions of dollars in rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory, both endangered wildlife species, which involved the illegal poaching of more than approximately 35 rhinoceros and more than 100 elephants. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods.

Cape Town - Anti-rhino poaching activist Wayne Bolton has called for stronger collaborative action from the government amid concern over rising rhino poaching cases. According to Bolton, rhino poaching across Africa saw a significant decrease during strict Covid-19 lockdowns, but as the restrictions loosened, poachers intensified their onslaught on the species, with South Africa being hardest hit.

The two main suspects have pending charges of corruption, money laundering and fraud to related wildlife trafficking. Photo for illustration: Susan Scott, Stroop Police have arrested nine suspects between the ages of 22 and 61 in a multidisciplinary poaching blitz codenamed "Blood Orange" conducted in Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Limpopo provinces. The arrests follows a targeted investigation which involved looking into the suspect’s financial affairs, with auditing firm KPMG brought in to scrutinise the flow of cash into their accounts.

Quiçama Park administrator denounces that individuals with money have "encouraged" poachers. Lack of personnel and transport cited as a reason for poor enforcement. Park has just over 100 staff, but needs at least 600. In 2021, the Government presented a project to stop poaching in the country.

International Rhino Foundation (IRF) communications director Christopher Whitlatch said: "Zimbabwean rhino poachers have been involved in major illegal activities in South Africa. "Taking the Eastern Cape as an example, the Zimbabwean rhino poaching gang that recently escaped from jail had been convicted for killing and dehorning numerous rhinos in hit-and-run incidents in that province. "Other cross-border rhino crimes include South African criminals operating in Zimbabwe," he said

A member of the Namibian Police Force's (NamPol) Protected Resources Unit (PRU) in the Otjozondjupa Region, who is accused of the alleged theft of a rhino horn placed under his care, secured bail on Thursday. Magistrate Peingondjabi Shipo granted the 45-year-old Sergeant Salatiel Simon bail of N.dollars 10 000, on condition that the accused does not leave the district of Otjiwarongo without informing police officers involved in the investigations of his case.

Altesaam 106 verdagtes is vanjaar vir stropery in hegtenis geneem. Intussen maak rolspelers gereed om wildbeskerming en wetstoepassingspogings teen wildmisdaad in Namibië hierdie feesseisoen op te skerp. Van hierdie 106 is 44 vir renosterstropery en 62 verdagtes vir olifantstropery in hegtenis geneem. Die ministerie van die omgewing, bosbou en toerisme se woordvoerder, mnr. Romeo Muyunda, het gesê wat ontstellend is, is dat 93 van dié verdagtes Namibiërs is - 'n groep wat volgens die ministerie die voortou in die stryd teen stropery behoort te neem.

The Kruger National Park (KNP) expects a decline in rhino poaching incidents due to heavy sentences imposed on five poachers in November. The acting managing executive of the KNP, Dr Danny Govender, commended the Skukuza Regional Court for imposing lengthy jail terms in recent cases and said it shows they are making good progress in fighting rhino poaching.