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.
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Speaking to journalists, the Customs Area Controller, MMA command, Micheal Awe, said the operation, which was with the support of the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC), led to the arrest of five suspects involved in the illegal wildlife trade. According to the Customs boss, the 3,765kg pangolin scale seizures mark the first major global seizure of its kind in 2025. He argued that the seizure highlighted both the persistent threat to pangolin species and the heightened vigilance of the NCS in dismantling these criminal networks.
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NIG_2025_04_Customs intercepts 3765kg pangolin scales In Lagos_Leadership.pdf | 71.08 KB |
However, due to long periods of over-hunting and poaching their meat (subsistence poaching) and ivory tusks, that number declined significantly across the continent between the 70s and 80s. It’s reported that an average of 100 000 elephants were killed each year during that time, and by 2016, experts estimated a drop in those numbers by 111 000 within a decade. Today, there are only 415 000 elephants across Africa, with Botswana being home to the world's largest elephant population.
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NAM_2024_09_Living large_African elephants_The Namibian.pdf | 386.99 KB |
In Namibia, despite famed conservation efforts, close to 300 rhinos have been poached over the past 4 years (2020 to 2023), according to wildlife reports from the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.
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NAM_2024_09_Beyond The Horn_The Namibian.pdf | 329.45 KB |
The Nigeria Customs Service Special Wildlife Office, over the weekend, announced the arrest of a Shipper and supplier responsible for the illegal exportation of a 40ft container of illegal Wildlife to Vietnam. It was gathered that the illegal wildlife products were intercepted and reported in Vietnam in April 2024 while the arrest of the suspects was made by the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC) and the enforcement officers of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone C, Owerri, Imo state.
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NIG_2024_05_Customs arrests shipper_supplier over illegal export of wildlife_Leadership.pdf | 492.35 KB |
Speaking during the handover event DWNP Director, Kabelo Senyatso revealed that the drone has greatly improved their capabilities in the fight against rhino poaching.
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BOT_2022_11_Fight Against Poachers Intensifies_The Voice Botswana.pdf | 333.73 KB |
A 37-year-old man of Toteng village was on Friday last week acquitted and discharged of unlawful possession of elephant tusks. It was alleged that on August 20th, Kangootui Kangootui was found in possession of two elephant tusks weighing 16.8kg valued at P27,513.55 wrapped in old blankets along Kunyere River. According Magistrate Keneilwe Kgoadi, the state has failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt.
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BOT_2021_10_Man acquitted of illegal possession of elephant tusks_The Voice Botswana.pdf | 567.68 KB |