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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Kruger rangers face armed poachers daily while investigating elephant killings and recent poaching camps in a 2-million-hectare wilderness. Rangers undergo six-week intensive training, including 15km bush patrols and survival skills, but job opportunities are limited by budget constraints
Rangers say poachers are starving young men who kill animals for meat, not traditional medicine, and dry the meat inside the park. More than 120 vultures were poisoned after eating meat from a dead elephant laced with toxic chemicals used by poachers. Hungry and desperate, people living near Kruger National Park are turning to poaching to survive. About 80% of the population in the area depend on illegal hunters who sneak into the park to kill wild animals for food. The meat is either eaten or sold to local butchers who pass it on to poor community members at low prices.
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| SA_2025_07_South Africa_Hungry poachers killing Kruger animals for meat_All Africa.pdf | 86.95 KB |
Angola's Criminal Investigation Service (SIC) in Bengo Province bordering the capital city Luanda, detained two poachers for killing an elephant in the municipality of Pango Aluquém. The detention took place this Monday due to complaints from people who saw the accused consuming and selling meat from the great mammal. The two, José Sebastião and Malambo Castro, aged 28 and 30, respectively, countered the accusations by saying that they found the animal already dead and that they only enjoyed the meat and ivory in the company of other people from their community.
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| ANG_2023_03_Angolan authorities arrest two suspected suspected elephant poachers_Independent.pdf | 325.5 KB |
The court has once again proved that those who illegally trade in exotic animals will feel the full brunt of the law. It ordered a vehicle which transported two pangolin skins forfeited to the State.
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| SA_2023_02_Vehicle used to transport pangolin skins forfeited to state_IOL.pdf | 119.5 KB |
Limpopo game farmer Dawie Groenewald and his co-accused were arrested about 12 years ago on a multitude of rhino poaching-related charges, yet their criminal trial has yet to start.
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| SA_2022_04_Rhino horn trade case delayed again 12 years after arrest of suspects_IOL.pdf | 669.78 KB |
Pretoria - Suspected game poachers now face losing the vehicles and firearms used in the act of shooting their prey.
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| SA_2021_10_Suspected game poachers face losing cars_guns used in crime_IOL.pdf | 304.24 KB |
Pretoria - More than a decade ago, Limpopo game farmer Dawie Groenewald and his co-accused were arrested on a multitude of rhino poaching-related charges, yet their criminal trial is yet to start - and a judge wants answers. Groenewald and his eight co-accused once again briefly appeared in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria this week, and their case was postponed to March 1.
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| SA_2021-02_Judge demands answers over rhino poaching case delays_IOL.pdf | 543.76 KB |