Search results

A large part of his work involves removing snares from wildlife, and "sadly, incidents of snaring have been increasing across Kruger in recent years, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic", he wrote in South African National Parks (SANParks) 2023/2024 research report. The use of tracking collars - which send alerts either when animals enter identified snaring hotspot areas or have been stationary for a certain period - has recently become an important tool in managing endangered species such as wild dogs.

Two businessmen and a farmer of Lusaka have been taken to court for illegal possession of a live pangolin, one of the most tracked mammal in the world, valued at over K23, 000. Pangolin meat is considered a delicacy, while their scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine as they are believed to treat a range of ailments from asthma to rheumatism and arthritis.

Wildlife officials have hailed the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) recent decision to appeal what it called the lenient sentences handed to two rhino poachers in May, as well as the jailing this week of one of the men in a separate case.

The national prosecuting authority (NPA) has reinstated charges and re-enrolled an eight-year-old case against known rhino poacher Gideon (aka Deon) van Deventer, after it emerged the original case had been quashed and struck from the roll under dubious circumstances. The state’s 2014 Bronkhorstspruit firearms case against Van Deventer was re-opened in June this year after a whistle-blower tipped off law enforcement authorities and court officials about a miscarriage of justice that occurred at the Bronkorstspruit magistrate’s court on 24 July 2015.

Four succulent poachers have been sentenced to seven years imprisonment for trying to steal 14 endangered Halfmens (Pachypodium namaquanum) succulent plants within the |Ai|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park in the Northern Cape.

Whenever there is an outbreak of a new infectious disease, such as the current Covid-19 pandemic, we are quick to identify the animal or species that hosted the virus.  However, we pay little attention to the role people who deal in illegal wildlife products play in causing the "species jump" and spreading Zoonotic diseases. Poachers illegally hunt in national parks, game management areas and private game farms. As a result, they are always fearful of being spotted by someone or being caught by village scouts or wildlife police officers.

The Subordinate Court in Mumbwa has sentenced five men to five years imprisonment with hard labour after they pled guilty to illegal possession of 88kg of bushmeat poached from Blue Lagoon national park in Kafue District.

South Africa's diverse wildlife means it plays a "devastating role" as both source and transit country for wildlife trafficking. The most popular animal parts include rhino horn, abalone, pangolin and ivory, which is moved through South Africa to the East.

The Livingstone Subordinate Court has sentenced a Lusaka businessman of Garden-Chilulu compound to five years imprisonment with hard labour for unlawful possession of 196 kilograms of dried elephant meat. Ministry of Tourism Sakabilo Kalembwe has told #Mwebantu in a statement, that the businessman has also been sentenced to one year-six months imprisonment to run concurrently for escaping lawful custody in 2019 after being arrested for unlawful possession of 241 kgs of elephant ivory

It's clear why the illegal wildlife trade exists. Where there's consumer demand for products from endangered species, there are bound to be networks seeking to profit from that demand. But what about the motivations of individual offenders? TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade NGO, decided to simply ask them. The researchers interviewed 73 people in South African correctional centers, who had been convicted of crimes related to rhinos, abalone, or cycads (ancient palm-like plants that have been called "the world's most endangered plants").