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Facing possible contempt of court charges for illegal elephant hunting in Botswana and violation of court interdicts, Dawie Groenewald's alleged proxy in Botswana, the now-disgraced former Justice Minister Ronald Machana Shamukuni and his dodgy shelf company DK Superior (PTY) Limited, are done and dusted.

Minister Dion George of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has welcomed the successful intelligence-driven operation that resulted in the confiscation of abalone worth over R3 million in Cape Town. The Minister commended the collaborative efforts of the South African Police Service's Operation Lockdown III and the Endangered Species K9 Unit, which uncovered a drying facility containing 6,400 units of abalone with an estimated street value of R3,520,000.

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.

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,…

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".

The latest reports from national governments and agencies reveal (so far) that approximately 548 rhinos were poached in Africa last year. Overall, the total is a slight increase compared to 2021, when 539 rhinos were poached. This is a significant change from 2013 - 2017, when more than 1,000 rhinos were killed each year, yet it’s still dangerously high. On average, one rhino is still poached every 16 hours. Most of the rhinos poached last year were killed in Namibia and South Africa. In both countries, poachers have shifted their focus to new places.

Since the beginning of 2022, more than 100 rhinos have been poached in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province. This staggering toll compares to 102 rhinos poached in the Province during the whole of 2021, and 93 in the whole of 2020. Unless this trend is urgently reversed, 2022 could end with a new KZN poaching record, going beyond the horrific 222 rhino poaching deaths recorded in 2017. The recent increase in poaching in KZN is likely due to several factors. First, there has been a devastating decline in the number of rhinos in the Kruger National Park.