This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:
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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Authorities are offering a reward of N$160,000 for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for a brutal poaching incident in the Hardap Region. Between 9 and 11 May 2025, a white rhinoceros cow was found shot and dehorned on a farm near Maltahöhe. Her orphaned calf, named Elsa, was discovered two days later and has since been rescued. The Namibian Police's Blue Rhino Task Team, alongside Mike Bolhuis from Specialised Security Services in South Africa, is leading the investigation.
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NAM_2025_05_NS160 000 reward offered after rhino poaching near Maltahohe_Nova.pdf | 284.42 KB |
Two Belgian 19-year-olds have pleaded guilty to wildlife piracy - part of a growing trend of trafficking 'less conspicuous' creatures for sale as exotic pets. Poaching busts are familiar territory for the officers of Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), an armed force tasked with protecting the country's iconic creatures. But what awaited guards when they descended in early April on a guesthouse in the west of the country was both larger and smaller in scale than the smuggling operations they typically encounter. There were more than 5,000 smuggled animals, caged in their own enclosures…
Conservationists have raised the alarm about the rapid decline in Nigeria’s lion population, which now stands at fewer than 50 wild lions; a stark contrast to the thousands that roamed the country decades ago. They urged Nigerians to protect lions by reducing illegal bushmeat consumption, supporting better protection of their shrinking habitat, and championing anti-poaching measures. The experts also cautioned that losing these apex predators would have devastating consequences for Nigeria’s ecosystems and cultural heritage, as well as its tourism potential.
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NIG_2024_12_How decline in lion population is affecting Nigerias tourism potential_The Guardian.pdf | 215.18 KB |
The three were arrested in Lagos in July 2021 following the interception by Nigerian Customs agents of 196 sacks of pangolin scales weighing 7,137.40kg, one sack of pangolin claws weighing 4.60kg and 29 sacks of elephant tusks weighing 870.4kg.
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NIG_2023_10_How illegal wildlife_trade traffickers escape justice in Nigeria_The Guardian.pdf | 374.86 KB |
This was during his second appearance in the Lenyenye Regional Court after he was arrested in May. Nyalungu’s defence team requested that he be transferred to a Polokwane correctional facility due to difficulty to obtain his chronic medication in Thohoyandou where he was in custody until then. The court agreed and Joseph has been moved to Polokwane. Nyalunga was arrested on Saturday, May 27 in Kampersrus after a car chase involving the police. He allegedly has a long history of poaching and was first arrested in 2011 after being on police’s radar for several months.
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SA_2023_07_Poaching kingpin Big Joe to Polokwane Correctional services_Letaba Herald.pdf | 796 KB |
It was successful day for multi-task team of detectives from the Endangered Species Unit, SANParks, Focused Conservation Solutions, Hoedspruit SAPS, and Hoedspruit Farm Watch when they made a breakthrough arresting five suspects for rhino poaching.
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SA_2023_07_Five alleged rhino poachers arrested in the Kruger Park_Letaba Herald.pdf | 426.58 KB |
The Nigeria Customs Service, in collaboration with Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC), has intercepted 397.5 Kilogramme of pangolin scales and arrested 8 suspects in connection with the seizure.
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NIG_2022_08_Nigeria Customs intercepts 397kg of Pangolin scales_arrests 8 suspects_The Guardian.pdf | 422.35 KB |
Despite being 20 times smaller and having much lower rainfall, Richtersveld has more plant species than the country's famous Kruger national park. It is, says Van Wyk, "the most important succulent laboratory in the world". But it is this variety of rare succulents that draws the poachers. Many Richtersveld species are so specialised that they grow only in one valley or on one mountain slope. In extreme cases an entire species can be confined to an area smaller than a football pitch, so a poacher could render a species extinct in a morning.
The police in Lulekani have launched a manhunt for the alleged poachers who shot and killed two rhinos on different locations on one of the game farms near Swelane village.
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SA-2020-09_Police launch manhunt for rhino poachers_Letaba Herald.pdf | 276.38 KB |