Search results

Namibian Wildlife Crimes article archive

This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:

  • provide easy public access to published information and statistics
  • enable easy stakeholder access to articles
  • provide a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia

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.

Explore your search results using the filter checkboxes, or amend your search or start a new search.

Displaying results 1 - 16 of 16
Monday, 2 June 2025
Malinga G 2025. Team set up to tackle wildlife poisoning.

More than 120 vultures are believed to have died recently in the Kruger National Park after feeding on an elephant carcass that was laced with poison, allegedly by poachers. Around 80 of the endangered scavenger birds narrowly survived. KwaZulu-Natal has also seen a sharp decline in vulture populations, with vulture poisoning cases reported in the northern parts of Zululand - including Hluhluwe and Pongola. However officials say there's been a sharp decline.

Friday, 14 March 2025
2025. WWF rues resurgence of rhino poaching in Zambia.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Zambia on Thursday expressed deep concern over the resurgence of rhino poaching in the southern African country. The concern followed the killing of a three-year-old white rhino by poachers in Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park on March 11, who fled with its horns. This incident came after two rhinos were killed last year at a ranch in the southern district of Kazungula. WWF Zambia Country Director Nalucha Nganga-Ziba described the recent rhino killing as a major setback in the country's ongoing efforts to restore its rhino population.

Saturday, 17 February 2024
Moser K 2024. Namibia warns of rising pangolin trafficking on World Pangolin Day.
Namibia's Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism issued a warning on World Pangolin Day, exposing the extent of illegal trafficking and poaching activities targeting pangolins.
Sunday, 31 December 2023
2023. Botswana, Namibia launch joint elephant poaching investigation: official.

Botswana and Namibia have embarked on a joint investigation into the increased incidents of elephant poaching in the northern part of Botswana. "The country (Botswana) experienced a surge in elephant poaching incidents during November and December 2023," Lesego Kgomanyane, the spokesperson for Botswana's Ministry of Environment and Tourism, told Xinhua over the telephone, noting that the development has shone the light on the apparent increase in poaching of elephants in northern Botswana.

Friday, 3 November 2023
Soodyal N 2023. Man nabbed for selling elephant tusk in Durban.

In Durban, a team comprising the Hawks and KZN Economic Infrastructure Task Team caught a man selling an elephant tusk. The 62-year-old was arrested in Greenwood Park. Police say the horn, which weighed some four-and-a-half-kilos, is estimated to be worth R2 million

Thursday, 1 September 2022
2022. Rhinoceros poaching surges in Namibia.

Namibia is experiencing a surge in poaching, with the number of poached rhinoceros rising to 48 this year, Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said Wednesday. In a statement, Muyunda said of the poached rhinoceros, 32 were black rhinoceros and 16 were white rhinoceros.

Monday, 13 June 2022
Malinga G 2022. Five nabbed as Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife steps up fight against poaching.

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife says the improved and random deployment of field ranges, police officers and K9 units have made life difficult for poachers. Three suspected poachers were arrested last week before they could kill a rhino inside the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park in northern KZN. This brings the number of alleged poachers caught inside the park this year to five.

Tuesday, 10 August 2021
2021. One poacher killed in Botswana.

One poacher was killed in an anti-poaching incident in Ditshiping village, Okavango Delta, Botswana Defense Force (BDF) said Tuesday.

Monday, 2 August 2021
2021. Interview: Namibia eager to partner with China on wildlife cooperation.

Namibia is eager to partner with China on wildlife cooperation, the African country's environment minister said during an interview with Xinhua. Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Pohamba Shifeta said that China has been a supporter of Namibia's conservation programs, adding that he had discussed others areas of cooperation with his counterparts during a trip to China. "Namibia-China cooperation is very cordial and a genuine one, especially when it comes to conservation programs and also environmental programs.

Monday, 17 May 2021
2021. Namibia records drop in poaching cases.

Namibia has recorded a drastic drop in poaching cases with only two rhinos poached so far this year compared to 13 poaching cases recorded at the same period last year, Environment Ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said on Monday.

Sunday, 22 November 2020
Phong H 2020. Man gets 6 years for smuggling rhino horns from Mozambique.

A HCMC court Friday sentenced a man to six years in jail for illegally transporting rhino horns weighing over six kilograms from Mozambique.

Thursday, 22 October 2020
2020. Namibia drastically reduces poaching cases: minister.

Namibia has drastically cut down on the number of rhino poaching cases in the past year despite the country still battling the problem, Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta told Parliament on Wednesday.

Tuesday, 2 June 2020
Nguyen H 2020. Man gets five years in Hanoi for transporting rhino horns from Africa.

The Hanoi People’s Court sentenced a man to five years in prison on Monday for trafficking rhino horns from Angola to Vietnam. Nguyen Van Pho, 31, was charged with "illegally transporting rare and endangered animals" after arriving in Noi Bai International Airport from Bangkok on November 7, 2019, with the horns. When airport security personnel checked his baggage, they found a package wrapped in tin foil with two black rhino horns which weighed 1.9kg inside.

Thursday, 28 May 2020
2020. Two poachers shot dead in Botswana.

The Botswana Defence Force (BDF) has reported death of two poachers killed in an anti-poaching incident in the Okavango Delta, bringing the number of poachers killed in the Southern Africa country to seven this year.

Wednesday, 27 May 2020
Ngcobo N 2020. KZN poaching drops since virus lockdown.

KZN Ezemvelo Wildlife says they have seen a decrease in poaching since the start of the national lockdown. But the conservation body says they remain on high alert as poachers continue to operate in the province. Last week, a suspect was arrested in Mtubatuba, North of KZN for the illegal possession and sale of elephant ivory in the KwaMsane Township.

Thursday, 13 February 2020
2020. Namibia launches conservation fund to tackle human-wildlife conict .

Namibia launched an initiative that will contribute to the collective efforts of conserving the environment as well as the conservancies and communities in the rural areas at an event held in Windhoek on Thursday.

NOT FOUND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR? AMEND YOUR SEARCH...