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A 32-year-old poacher was shot and injured during a confrontation with field rangers in the Crocodile Bridge section of the Kruger National Park on the evening of Thursday, September 18 at around 20:00. According to the Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Sergeant Thulisile Magagula, the incident followed the discovery of human tracks at around 07:30 that morning by field rangers on patrol. A follow-up operation was immediately launched, with rangers tracking the footprints toward the park's southern boundary throughout the day.

Two male suspects - a 41-year-old resident of a farm in the Okahandja District and a 28-year-old Windhoek resident - were on Tuesday apprehended in the Oshikoto Region while allegedly attempting to sneak into the Etosha National Park with rhino poaching intentions. They were found in possession of a hunting rifle fitted with a telescope and a silencer, twenty live rounds of ammunition, three knives, seven loaves of bread, and twelve tins of canned food, and were allegedly unable to give satisfactory answers when confronted by law enforcement officers.

Namibia is pinning its hopes on the upcoming COP20 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) for approval to legally sell a portion of its ivory stockpile. The summit will take place in Uzbekistan from 24 November to 5 December. According to the proposal, Namibia currently has just over 92 386 kg of ivory, valued at about N$166 million. The ivory was stockpiled via population management and seizures, in roughly equal parts. Namibia does not destroy its ivory.

The long-running case against Schalk Abraham “AB” Steyn and Limpopo game farmer Dawie Groenewald, who face charges of illegal possession and transportation of rhino horns, has been postponed yet again. The pair briefly appeared in the Nelspruit Regional Court on August 13, where the matter was set down for a pretrial conference on November 10. Steyn and Groenewald were arrested together on July 20, 2021, at a property in the Riverside area, where 19 rhino horns were allegedly found. They were granted bail of R50 000 each shortly afterwards.

THE Namibian police are relentlessly searching for still-unknown suspects who on Friday entered the Namib Naukluft National Park in the Sesriem policing area of the Hardap Region and killed eight oryx valued at N$36,000 without a valid hunting permit. According to the police, the suspects, who entered the park in a vehicle, are wanted for hunting huntable game without a permit and for hunting on state land. The Namib Naukluft National Park is of great importance due to its unique desert environment, diverse wildlife, and rich geological and historical significance.

Two suspected illegal hunters were arrested in the Otjiwarongo policing area on Saturday. Two other suspects were apprehended Friday near Kalkfeld, while three managed to flee. Both cases involved the illegal hunting of an oryx. According to the police, two suspects aged 26 and 41 were arrested Saturday during an operation conducted in collaboration with members of the neighbourhood watch. They were found at a T-junction of the Otjiwarongo/Otavi main road while in possession of six 50kg bags full of dried oryx meat valued at N$6,000.

The body of an alleged poacher was found in the Kruger National Park on July 12. According to Mpumalanga police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jabu Ndubane, the body was found at about 08:30, and it is suspected that he was killed during an exchange with field rangers the previous night, July 11, around 21:00.

The Namibian Police in the Kunene Region have arrested a 41-year-old suspect who allegedly used a steel wire to trap a black-faced impala in the Otjimbundu village of the Ehomba policing area. The crime was discovered when a game guard went to count the impalas and found one impala, valued at N$6,500, trapped with a wire around its neck and fighting for its life. It eventually died.

Three male suspects, aged between 30 and 46, were apprehended by the police in Mariental on Saturday while they were allegedly looking for a buyer for an elephant tusk they had in their possession. One of the suspects was shot during the arrest and was initially taken to the local hospital, but was afterwards transferred to a hospital in Windhoek for further treatment. The three suspects are accused of dealing in controlled wildlife products without a permit, disguising the origin of unlawful property, and assisting another to benefit from the proceeds of illegal activities.

A 73-year-old man was reportedly arrested for illegal hunting at Otjomupanda village on Friday. According to a police crime report issued on Sunday, the incident occurred around 14:40 during a joint police operation. It is alleged that police conducted a search at the suspect’s residence, where they discovered a kudu carcass valued at N$6,000. A rifle believed to have been used in the poaching incident was also reportedly found at the scene.

The Namibian police at Arandis in the Erongo Region arrested two suspects, aged 33 and 37, on Friday for allegedly illegally harvesting indigenous protected plants. The police said a third suspect managed to flee the scene but is known and can be arrested at any time. During an intelligence-led operation near Arandis, the police discovered a campsite where protected indigenous plants were found, namely 55 Elephant's Foot plants (Adenia pechuelii) and five Namib Corkwood plants (Commiphora dinteri).

Chinese businesswoman and property mogul, Qiaoxa Stina Wu, has said that she is not aware of any criminal investigation being carried out against herself or business partner Charlie Xie, after a seal genital cargo of 20 kilos was flagged in Hong Kong, China, after being exported from Namibia without the relevant export documents for listed species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). It is further reported that the cargo was undervalued to evade tax and that the true nature of the cargo was concealed.

A 36-YEAR-OLD man was arrested at Oromauua village near Etosha National Park on Friday for conspiracy to commit a crime and hunting specially protected game without a permit. According to the police, the arrest came after the suspect, who was driving a white Toyota Hilux GD6 Double Cab with three passengers, failed to stop at a mobile roadblock set up by Anti-Poaching members at Oromauua village. The police later intercepted the vehicle at Werda Police Station and discovered that there was only one occupant (the driver) in the vehicle.

A Total of 570 pangolins have been poached in Namibia since 2018. This was revealed by Ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda, who said that the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism remains dedicated to protecting the nation's pangolins. According to Muyunda, there is an urgent need to combat threats such as habitat loss and illegal trafficking.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism has taken a significant step in combating wildlife crime by establishing specialized Environmental Crimes Courts (ECCs) in strategic locations across the country. Ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said that they successfully held special courts in Oshakati, Rundu, and Katima Mulilo, each tasked with addressing the growing threat to Namibia’s precious wildlife.

The Namibian Police Force in the Ohangwena Region has arrested two men, aged 26 and 51, after they were found in possession of pangolin skin in Okongo. Ohangwena Crime Investigation Coordinator, Deputy Commissioner Melanie Mbuuru, said the suspects were arrested around 11:15 at the Pick n Pay complex in the Okongo district on Tuesday. According to Mbuuru, the suspects were found in possession of protected game products without a permit.

An incident of illegal hunting involving protected game was reported to the police in Omaruru on Friday after the remains of a waterbuck and an ostrich were discovered on a farm in the area. The exact time of the crime is unknown, but the police suspect it occurred between 27 and 29 November. The head and intestines of the waterbuck, as well as the legs of the ostrich, were found at the scene of the crime. No arrests have been made yet.

Three suspected poachers, who allegedly travelled from Windhoek with the intention of poisoning rhinos at a farm in the Omaheke Region, were arrested by police on Saturday morning. According to the police's weekend crime report, the suspects planned to poach rhinos at Farm Morester in the Trans-Kalahari area by feeding them poisoned fruits. It is alleged that the suspects - aged between 29 and 41 - travelled on a truck from Windhoek to the Tallismanus T-junction, where they disembarked and walked to the farm.

The Namibian Police in Otavi have arrested three suspects who were allegedly found in possession of warthog meat. The three suspects - one Angolan and two Namibian males - were apprehended at Farm Salem on Friday morning. The value of the warthog is estimated at N$500.

The Namibian Police have reported a fatal shooting incident in which three suspected poachers were fatally shot by members of the Anti-Poaching Unit in Etosha National Park. According to Chief Inspector Elifas Kuwinga, media liaison officer within the Namibian Police, the incident occurred on Friday, 15 November 2024, at around 19:00. During routine foot and vehicle patrols along the park’s fence, members of the Anti-Poaching Unit observed shoe prints indicating entry into the park through the fence.

The Namibian Police Force in the Oshana region has arrested a 42-year-old man after his vehicle was intercepted with timber loaded in it at the Oshiko roadblock on Thursday. Oshana Crime Investigation Coordinator, Deputy Commissioner Frederick Ndjadila, said that the suspect was caught around 21:00. According to Ndjadila, the suspect faces charges of possession of forest produce without a permit/license, transportation of forest produce without a permit/license, and driving a motor vehicle without a license.

The Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) Secretariat has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Kingdom (UK) to collaborate on the regional application of the Biodiverse Landscapes Fund (BLF), which aims to restore landscapes. The KAZA Secretariat was represented by its Executive Director, Dr Nyambe Nyambe, while the UK was represented by Giles Enticknap MBE, the UK’s High Commissioner to Botswana and Special Representative to the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

A 45-year-old Zambian man was arrested in the Lubuta area of the Zambezi Region on Saturday for possession of six elephant tusks without a permit. According to the police, the man was arrested near the Lubuta-Sachona Gravel Road following an intelligence-led covert operation. The suspect was allegedly found with six elephant tusks, which had been cut into 12 pieces. The value of the tusks has not yet been determined. The suspect is expected to make his first court appearance today, at the Katima Mulilo Magistrates' Court.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism's anti-poaching unit recently received 22 patrol vehicles and IT equipment to support wildlife protection services. "The critical equipment we receive today - valued at approximately N$20 million - comes at a pivotal time for our conservation efforts. This consignment includes 21 4×4 off-road patrol vehicles, one Corolla Sedan, and IT equipment.

A dehydrated pangolin was rescued from the captivity of alleged traffickers in Morningside at the end of September. Sandton SPCA's senior inspector Ronald Ramalata acted swiftly following being tipped-off about the endangered animal on September 29.

A 47-year-old resident of Onamishu village in the Oshikoto Region was recently arrested by the police after he was allegedly found in possession of 100 kilograms of dried kudu meat. The meat was discovered in his shebeen, and law enforcement officers said that his intention was to secretly take the meat to a market outside Onamishu for sale. It is further alleged that he was found in possession of a shotgun and respective ammunition, which the police suspect was used in the illegal hunting of the kudu.

hree rhino poachers have been sentenced to 50, 33 and 21 years for killing rhinos in the Kruger National Park. Dominic Mnisi, Lwazi Malambe and Ayanda Ngomane were recently convicted of trespassing, possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of a firearm to commit a crime, conspiracy to commit a crime, and animal cruelty. Mnisi was sentenced to 50 years effectively, with several charges running concurrently. Malambe was given 33 years effectively, and Ngomane 21. Mnisi and Malambe were arrested in January 2017 with a rifle, ammunition and four fresh rhino horns.

One of the two suspected rhino poachers killed in a recent shootout at the Etosha border fence near Oshivello was out on bail for two previous poaching cases in the Okahao Court in 2020. The police identified the two poachers as Iishulu Johannes (30) and Mashuna Timoteus (40) and confirmed that the two were related. The police revealed that Timoteus had no other pending cases against him, while Johannes had a criminal history, with four pending cases, two of which were related to poaching.

Two suspected poachers were shot to death in an exchange of fire with members of the anti-poaching unit in the Etosha National Park on Wednesday. The incident occurred at the Scorpionbelt, Western Zone, when a patrol of the anti-poaching unit observed shoeprints that had entered the park through the park's fence. According to the police, the suspects' tracks were pursued for a distance of 60 km up to a water point where Rhinos mostly feed on small shrubs.

The Anti-poaching unit of the Environment Ministry, together with other law enforcement agencies, has arrested two suspected poachers and is tracking four others who are suspected to be moving in the area between Omuthiya and Oshivelo in the Oshikoto Region. This follows after two rhino carcasses were discovered in the Etosha National Park recently. Four rhino horns and firearms were confiscated when two suspects, aged 31 and 44, were arrested on Sunday.

It's not rocket science. Harsher sentences - both locally and abroad - need to be dished out to those who poach rhinos for their horns, or smuggle those horns to other countries. The South African government reported 448 rhinos were killed across the country in 2022 - just three fewer than the previous year. It's welcoming to hear a Singapore court on Friday sentenced Gumede Sthembiso Joel, a 33- year-old South African man, to two years in jail for smuggling rhino horns. It was the heaviest sentence handed down by the city state for trafcking wildlife parts.

The Texan faces accusations of violating South African law after several carcasses were found that had no paperwork. A controversial figure in the rhino horn trade debate was arrested last week after more than 20 rhino carcasses were found at his game farm in Limpopo. The arrest of Derek Lewitton was made by the Hawk, after they investigated his Harmony game farm for more than 16 hours. During the searches, members of the Hawks discovered multiple rhino carcasses missing their horns.

A joint operation has resulted in the arrest of two known criminals with connections to multiple robbery cases in the Signal Hill and Lions Head area, after the suspects were tracked by Table Mountain National Park's (TMNP) Sea, Air and Mountain (Seam) team with canines and the help of vigilant cyclists who pursued the suspects. Other organisations taking part in the operation were South African National Parks (SAN Parks), South African Police Service and the City of Cape Town law enforcement tourism unit.

A man has been arrested for contravening Act 04/1975, Section 30, related to the hunting of huntable game at Farm Hamis in the Khomas region. According to the police weekend report, it is alleged that two suspects entered Farm Hamis and shot a kudu bull without permission. The farm workers heard the gunshot and responded by alerting the Namibian police, who acted promptly and arrested one of the suspected poachers. The second suspect fled the scene with the hunting rifle and has not yet been apprehended. The kudu carcass was recovered and valued at N$6,000.

The Namibian police in the Otjozondjupa Region have arrested two suspected illegal hunters, thanks to a rental vehicle that exposed their whereabouts. The two suspects, aged 23 and 46, were found in possession of an unlicensed firearm as well as carcasses of two kudu bulls, two waterbucks, and an oryx, with an estimated total value of N$35,000. According to the police, the illegal hunting was uncovered accidentally through a rental vehicle they were travelling in.

Alert farmworkers at Farm Eden, one of the most remote but iconic farms in the Otjozondjupa Region, prevented rhino poaching in the area, subsequently leading to the arrest of three suspected poachers.

Another case of dealing in controlled wildlife products has been reported in Kavango West, involving a 29-year-old man who was found with two pangolin skins on Tuesday. This comes after two men, aged 36 and 44, were arrested for being in possession of a live pangolin in Kakoro village recently. NamPol spokesperson Inspector Raimbert Muronga said that the 29-year-old suspect was arrested around 13:00 in Nkurenkuru town.

Two men, aged 36 and 44, were arrested after being found in possession of a live pangolin in Kakoro village, Kavango West. NamPol Head of Media, Chief Inspector Elifas Kuwinga, reported that the arrests occurred on Sunday around 16:00. Both suspects are Namibian nationals. "They were apprehended after being discovered in possession of a live pangolin valued at N$50 000 during a police operation," he said. Kuwinga said that the duo is facing charges related to dealing with and possessing controlled wildlife products.

Meanwhile, the police at Outjo in the Kunene region arrested a 28-year-old suspect while he was transporting a rhinohorn on Friday evening. He was apprehended when the police stopped and searched the vehicle he was traveling inbetween Outjo and Okaukuejo. The rhino horn’s estimated value is N$300,000.

Shifeta said that Namibia still experiences illegal hunting of rhinos as well as illegal trade in rhino horns. "The greatest threat to the rhino population is illegal hunting. This year, (39) rhinos have been poached in Namibia, compared to (92) in 2022, (50) in 2021, (47) in 2020, and (61) in 2019," Shifeta said. 

A 62-year-old pensioner man was arrested for shooting a Duiker and monitor lizard worth N$23 400. The incident occurred at farm 39 in Mangetti Cattle Range, Kavango West.

A male elephant was shot eight times during a trophy hunt before eventually succumbing to its injuries on 3 September 2023. Humane Society International is now looking at the legal options it can pursue. The animal welfare group said the issuing of the permit by Limpopo to hunt the animal was unlawful because of an court interdict in place. "The elephant suffered through eight gunshots over an extended period of time before finally succumbing to his injuries.

'Besmet' was one of the local hard-hitting documentaries shown at the kykNET Silwerskermfees in Cape Town this past week. One of the animals that tourists are most excited about seeing when visiting the Kruger National Park is the lion. The majestic ‘king of the jungle’ has always been a symbol of strength, power and ferocity, but sadly these traits are exactly what is putting the species in grave danger.

A case of hunting of specially protected game without a permit is being investigated by the police in Otjozondjupa after a carcass of a female black Rhinoceros was found at a water hole.

Two men aged 26 and 34 were arrested after being found in possession of one leopard skin at Hochfeld T-Junction.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) is concerned about the increasing use of snares to illegally hunt and kill wild animals in Etosha National Park. This comes after wire snares were discovered and retrieved in Etosha National Park.

This undated footage shows fifty illegal hunting trophies that were sized by police from a person, in two houses in Daroca and Manchones, Spain. This is the macabre slaughterhouse nightmare of two big game-hunting fans found with dozens of illegal trophies in their homes. The sick wildlife harvest was discovered  in two homes, located in the towns of Daroca and Manchones respetively, in the Spanish province of Zaragoza, after a year-long investigation.