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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Police have arrested a suspected poacher for allegedly poisoning over 100 elephants using cyanide at Hwange National Park. Tony Maphosa, who has been on the run since 2013, allegedly poisoned water points and salt pans with cyanide resulting in the death of more than 100 elephants. Maphosa was arrested in the national park on Wednesday following a tip off. An anti-poaching team comprising rangers from Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and police recovered two pieces of ivory from him. Zimparks spokesperson Mr Tinashe Farawo confirmed the arrest.
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ZIM_2025_06_Poacher kills over 100 elephants_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 504.75 KB |
A Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority ranger has been arrested on suspicion of being responsible for the shooting of the three lions that were found without heads and paws in Hwange National Park last week. Hali Mabuya (39) who was working at Mtshibi Camp in Hwange National Park was found with a Point 458 service rifle that was allegedly used in the callous killing of the three big cats and 52 live rounds of ammunition. About 30 of the rounds had not been issued to him by the employer.
South African conservationists have begun implanting radioactive pellets into the horns of white rhinos in an effort to curb the illegal rhino horn trade. James Larkin, the leader of the project, says the £1,000 pellet is cheaper and less damaging than other anti-poaching measures such as removing the horn. The project takes advantage of the global nuclear surveillance system. Sensors installed at border posts will now be able detect the horns’ radiation and alert the authorities.
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SA_2024_07_Radioactive rhinos_conservationists try new anti_poaching trick_Tortoise Media.pdf | 545.64 KB |
Police at Lulekani under the Mopani District are investigating a case of illegal poaching of protected wild animals, in an incident where two lions and a zebra were killed. An injured hyena was rescued after it was caught up in a wire snare, in the incident which happened at Genoeg Camp inside Letaba Ranch on Sunday around midnight.
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SA_2024_04_Poachers kill two lions and a zebra using wire snares in a Limpopo ranch_IOL.pdf | 255.19 KB |
Two Victoria Falls men, one of them a neighbourhood watch committee (NWC) member, have been fined $6 000 each for trapping animals with wire snares.
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ZIM_2021_10_Suspended sentences for wire snare poachers_The Chronicle.pdf | 1.92 MB |
An Otjiwarongo-based police constable and a pastor of the Enlightened Christian Gathering Church were arrested on Friday in Omuthiya after they were found in possession of a rhino horn. A third accomplice from Oshana region was also arrested. The trio was apprehended around 02h15 after the police received a tipoff from Otjiwarongo that the suspects were allegedly carrying prohibited contents.
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NAM_2021_03_Cop pastor nabbed for possession of rhino horn_New Era.pdf | 362.74 KB |
Two villagers from Binga who were caught trying to sell a live pangolin in Zambia have been sentenced to a mandatory five years in jail each in the neighbouring country.
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ZIM_2020-10_Pangolin peddling villagers arrested_The Chronicle.pdf | 314.08 KB |
Two villagers from Binga who were caught trying to sell a live pangolin in Zambia have been sentenced to a mandatory five years in jail each in the neighbouring country. Ephrain Mugande (35) and Simple Mugande (32) both of Manjolo Village under Chief Sikalenge illegally hunted the pangolin in Chizarira National Park on the boundary of Binga and Gokwe before crossing the Zambezi River with it to Sinazongwe town in Zambia with the intention to sell it.
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ZIM_2020-09_Two Binga villagers arrested for trying to sell pangolin_The Chronicle.pdf | 616.79 KB |
Two villagers from Binga have been arrested in Zambia after they were found in possession of a live pangolin they allegedly intended to sell in the neighbouring country.
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ZIM_2020-08_2 Binga folks arrested for possessing live pangolin_The Chronicle.pdf | 377.37 KB |
A 53-year-old villager from Dete in Matabeleland North has appeared in court for unlawful possession of four elephant tusks.
A 53-year-old villager from Dete in Matabeleland North has appeared in court for unlawful possession of four elephant tusks. Similo Vundla of Mambanje village under Chief Nekatambe was arrested by an anti-poaching team in March.
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ZIM_2020-07_Illegal elephant tusks_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 398.68 KB |
Football Club player Craven Banda has been arrested after he was allegedly found with eight raw elephant tusks.
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ZIM_2020-05_Footie star arrested over elephant tusks_Chronicle.pdf | 379.15 KB |
Four elephants were found dead, three of them without tusks in Woodlands Farm resettlement area on Monday.
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ZIM_2020-03_Four elephants poisoned_tusks removed_The Chronicle.pdf | 504.07 KB |
An instructor at Valombola Vocational Training Center in Ongwediva and a member of the Namibian Defence Force attached to the Otavi military base, were on Sunday arrested by the Oshikoto police for illegal hunting.
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2019-07_NDF member nabbed for illegal hunting_New Era Live.pdf | 1.78 MB |
A Hwange man and his son have been arrested for poaching after they were allegedly caught trapping animals and birds at the edge of Hwange National Park. Smart Shoko (48) and Ferdinand Shoko (26) both of Number F98 Madumabisa were found in possession of four impala carcasses, a baboon carcass and 79 fowl birds when they were ambushed by an anti-poaching unit in Bumbusi area outside Hwange town on Tuesday.
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ZIM_2021_07_Father and son arrested for poaching_The Chronicle.pdf | 229.79 KB |