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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The Swakopmund poachers are at it again, and they have become even more dangerous in their recklessness by strewing the C-28 with metal spikes to deter any would-be pursuers. A local farmer found this out the hard way when driving along the C-28, the road via Goanikontes and the Bossau Pass to Windhoek when he lost two tyres to these spikes. Seems that the poachers also discarded their shoes along the way, which tells us they have been walking deep into the farms along the C-28 to do their poaching.
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| NAM_2025_09_Swakopmund poachers are at it again_Facebook.pdf | 45.39 KB |
In a game-changing decision in Zambia's fight against illegal logging, the Economic and Financial Crimes Division of the High Court has forfeited to the State a vast array of assets tied to a major illegal logging operation. This monumental judgment sends a clear message that criminal exploitation of the country's precious forests will not go unpunished. With trucks, machinery, and even land now forfeited to the state, the court has taken decisive action to protect Zambia's natural resources from further damage. The decision, made by Justices S.M. Wanjelani, A. Malaya-Ononuju,…
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| ZAM_2025_09_Zambias historic court judgement delivers major blow to illegal logging_Facebook.pdf | 54.19 KB |
The value of proper training added to on-the-job gut feel paid off for two Kruger National Park (KNP) staffers with an 11-year sentence handed to a suspected rhino poacher this month, five years after the suspect was apprehended. KNP dog handlers stationed at the park’s Kruger and Phabeni gates, tasked as part of what SANParks said was "a special operation" in January 2020 flagged a suspicious vehicle on a gravel road linking Skukuza and Pretoriuskop. The driver ignored the stop request with Kruger personnel in a short-lived chase.
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| SA_2025_04_Rhino poaching crackdown_Kruger staffs efforts lead to major sentences_Defence web.pdf | 160.12 KB |
In the dense forest and diverse ecosystem of Liberia, the battle against wildlife crime has been an almost insurmountable task, but the latest report shows that progress is being made. The Wildlife Crime Task Force (WCTF), under the auspices of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), has shown to be making headway in the battle against illegal wildlife trafficking. Edward Y. N. W. Appleton is an experienced law enforcement expert and now manager at FDA whose work seems to be yielding necessary results in the face of the everyday challenges facing the management of wildlife.
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| LIB_2024_07_Task force makes gains in combating wildlife crimes_Liberian Observer.pdf | 902.51 KB |
A now 51 year old Czech who was found trying to smuggle 85 geckos, two snakes and two scorpions from Namibia into the EU via the Vienna Airport on the 23rd of May 2023 has been charged and fined 4000 Euros by a court in Austria (no date given) and all animals forfeited to the state. This was confirmed by the Head Public Relations Official of the Austrian Ministry of Finance, Steffan Trittner, after inquiring via e-mail a month ago. No further details were given because of "protection of data privacy".
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| NAM_2024_04_Smuggler fined €4000_Facebook.pdf | 540.1 KB |