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From sharks, rhinos to giraffes - they are the focus of the species conservation conference in Samarkand. As of November 24, 185 states in Uzbekistan will be wrestling over trade bans and restrictions. There is a lot at stake: the fate of more than 230 animal and plant species is being decided. The organization Pro Wildlife warns in advance of dangerous steps backwards in the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates or even prohibits the international trade in plants and animals.

A Chinese man has been found guilty of illegal possession of a pair of rhino horns worth US$120 000 and faces the nine-year mandatory jail sentence for the offence. Fuxi Wang, who had initially pleaded not guilty, was convicted after a full trial by Harare magistrate Ruth Moyo. He is expected back in court on Thursday, November 6 2025 for sentencing. The court heard that on February 20 this year, Wang wanted to export a purported sculpture from Zimbabwe to China through the Robert Gabriel International Airport.

Two Matabeleland South men will spend the next nine years in prison after being caught trying to sell a 1.6kg pangolin skin at a long distance bus terminus in Bulawayo. Mlamuleli Moyo (35) of Maphosa Homestead in Matopo and Gugulethu Ncube (21) of Mbofana Homestead, Figtree, were convicted at the Bulawayo Tredgold Magistrates' Court for unlawful possession of a pangolin skin, a trophy from a specially protected animal under the Parks and Wildlife Act.

A male elephant has been killed by poachers in Hwange National Park, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) has said. The carcass was discovered in the Main Camp area of the park with one tusk missing and flesh removed from its leg. ZimParks spokesperson Mr Tinashe Farawo said the jumbo might have been dead for about two days at the time of discovery. He said a distinctive shoe spoor was found at the scene, and a joint investigation with the Zimbabwe Republic Police is now underway.

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.

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.