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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.

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Displaying results 1 - 4 of 4
Thursday, 17 October 2024
2024. 10 arrested for abalone poaching.

According to SANParks head of communication JP Louw, the rangers acted on information received from Southern Cape Operation Phakisa the day before and conducted a patrol along Forest Hall Road. "Rangers observed a suspicious vehicle in the area, and upon approaching, the individuals fled, leaving behind two bags which were later confirmed to contain abalone," says Louw. Following the discovery, rangers notified the police and a thorough search of the surrounding area resulted in the apprehension of 10 suspects. One managed to escape.

Friday, 14 June 2024
Kolberg K 2024. Poachers hunted by Hawks in George.
Following years of patient investigation, the illegal abalone trade in the Western Cape has been dealt a major blow when the Hawks in George arrested eight suspects between the ages of 45 and 65 for their involvement in an abalone poaching syndicate. The suspects were arrested during a takedown operation with a series of tracing operations across the Western Cape and Garden Route on Monday 10 June.
Thursday, 4 May 2023
Kolberg K 2023. Rhino poached at local game reserve.

George Herald's sister publication, Mossel Bay Advertiser, confirmed that it is the horn of one of the white rhinos at Botlierskop Private Game Reserve. The reserve is situated just outside Little Brak River. According to a source close to George Herald, the suspects were stopped at a roadblock between George and Wilderness where the rhino horn was found in their possession. The horn was confiscated but the suspects managed to flee from police. By the time of going to print on Wednesday morning, the suspects were still at large and

Wednesday, 23 June 2021
Ngcobo N 2021. Concern over rise in poaching at PMB nature reserve.

"In the last couple of weeks, we found in certain areas a marked increase in the number of snares and a zebra was just left to rot where it had died, caught up in the snare." "We need to ask people to walk regularly and look for the snares. Quite often, they will set the snares and then they don't return in time to see if the animal has been caught in the snare and the animal is just left to rot." The Msunduzi Municipality has also raised concern about the rise in poaching at the reserve in recent weeks.

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