Search results

Wildlife conservation continues to face the acute challenges of poaching, habitat fragmentation and human-wildlife conflict. Environment ministry executive director Teofilus Nghitila said due to Namibia's successful conservation methods, which have led to increased wildlife populations outside national parks, human-wildlife conflict has increased. "The situation is worsened by the current disparities in rainfall as well as the growing human population," he said in his end-of-year message.

Environment ministry executive director Teofilus Nghitila says 48 rhinos have been poached so far this year. The figure shows a decrease from the 92 animals poached last year. Meanwhile, eight elephants were poached this year - compared to four last year - but this still much better than the previous years' figures, which reached 27 in 2018. The ministry – in collaboration with various law enforcement agencies - set up a response team when poaching skyrocketed in 2013.

There has been an increase in the number of arrests made in crimes related to pangolin trafficking between 1 September and 30 November. According to environment ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda, 18 pangolin skins, 12 live pangolins and 146 scales were confiscated, resulting in 23 registered cases and 38 suspects being arrested. "These numbers surpass that of elephant and rhino arrests combined for this period."

Namibia's average criminal market score was 4.1, an increase of 0.2 since 2021. The country scored 3.5 on human trafficking and 4.5 in arms trafficking. For flora crimes, Namibia scored 6.5, and for fauna crimes - which would include rhino poaching and the linked trade in horns - it scored 4.5.

Two more rhinos have been killed in the Kunene Region, bringing to five the number of rhinos poached in Namibia so far this year. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism has described the spate of poaching in the country as barbaric and says the country is ready to confront anybody caught poaching and that they will face the full wrath of the law. This comes while a group of about 60 people yesterday gathered at the Zoo Park in Windhoek to protest against bail being granted to three Chinese men who were caught in March this year with 14 rhino horns in their luggage.

The 14 rhino horns, valued at N$2.3 million and which were confiscated from three Chinese nationals recently, were poached in Namibia. This was confirmed at the bail hearing Li Xiaoliang, Li Zhibing and Pu Xuexin last week, when they appeared on charges of possessing and attempting to export controlled wildlife products. They were allegedly caught with the rhino horns, as well as a leopard skin valued at N$50 000, in their luggage on 23 March at Hosea Kutako International Airport.