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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Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife remains confident in the effectiveness of its rhino dehorning programme, despite the recent loss of 20 dehorned rhinos targeted for their horn stumps in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP). Since the programme's launch in April, over 1 000 rhinos have been dehorned, resulting in a significant drop in poaching numbers. Initially, Ezemvelo was hesitant to dehorn rhinos due to cost concerns and the sanctuary's unique appeal for tourists seeking to see rhinos with horns.
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SA_2024_11_Ezemvelo confident in rhino dehorning strategy despite spike in poaching_The Witness.pdf | 185.92 KB |
Somkhanda Game Reserve has embraced the latest tracking technology in their fight against rhino poaching within the reserve. The game reserve, based in the Zululand District in KwaZulu-Natal, carried out a successful three-day rhino dehorning project last month, during which they also implemented tracking technology to key individuals in the herds.
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SA_2024_09_KZN game reserve masters the art of rhino conservation_The Witness.pdf | 160.39 KB |
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SA_2024_08_Downward trend in rhino poaching numbers_The Witness.pdf | 169.64 KB |
The Cullinan Stock Theft and Endangered Species (STES) Unit successfully Dismantle Endangered Species Trafficking Operation. On Friday, 28 June 2024, the Cullinan STES unit conducted a successful undercover operation resulting in the arrest of two suspects for the possession of endangered species. The operation was initiated after receiving information that two pangolins were being offered for sale in Mabopane. The suspects aged 43 and 45 were arrested and four cell phones and two pangolins were seized. The pangolins were taken to the Johannesburg Wildlife Hospital for care.
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SA_2024_07_Police nab two suspects in possession of Pangolins_SAPS.pdf | 119.43 KB |
The recent sentencing of three wildlife poachers has been hailed as a success in the anti-poaching efforts of the Greytown community. Farmers, SAPS and security companies working together to curb poaching in the Greytown area have welcomed the sentences handed down to three men aged between 27 and 42 years old, who were found guilty of illegal hunting by the Greytown Magistrate's Court. The three men were each sentenced to eight months' imprisonment or a R2 000 fine.
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SA_2023_10_Sentencing of three wildlife poachers hailed as a success_The Witness.pdf | 406.05 KB |
Kenya will enhance partnerships with neighboring countries and regional blocs in a bid to protect abundant natural resources like wildlife from the clutches of organized crime, an official has said.
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KEN_2023_-07_Kenya vows to combat illegal trade in iconic species via enhanced partnership_NewsGhana.pdf | 528.08 KB |
The Kruger National Park rhino population has again decreased from 2 809 at the end of 2020 to 2 458 rhinos at present.
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SA_2022_09_DA concerned over decline in rhino numbers at Kruger National Park_The Witness.pdf | 435.81 KB |
Rhino poachers are heartless and kill every rhino they see - young or old, with of without a horn - just to get rid of them from the reserve and to "try and make their job easier", should they come back. This is according to Ezemvelo Wildlife spokesperson Musa Mntambo. This week, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Barbara Creecy said that KwaZulu-Natal recorded a loss of 133 rhinos in the first half of the year - which is more than triple the 33 rhino killed in the first six months of 2021.
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SA_2022_08_KZNs rhino population is being decimated by highly organised poachers_Witness.pdf | 528.01 KB |
Almost 260 rhino were poached for their hornsin South Africa in the firstsix months of this year.
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SA_2022_08_Our Viewpoint _ Rhino poaching_Witness.pdf | 433.55 KB |
A zebra and its foal have been found dead, caught in the grip of a snare in the Bisley Nature Reserve.
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SA_2022_07_Snare kills mother zebra and foal at Bisley Nature Reserve_TheWitness.pdf | 474.99 KB |
Tanzanian wildlife authorities on Saturday warned poachers to stop the malpractice before they faced the full force of the law.
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TAN_2022_07_Tanzania warns poachers to stop malpractice_News Ghana.pdf | 160.19 KB |
Three people were arrested for alleged poaching inside the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park in the northern KwaZulu-Natal. This was confirmed by the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife on Sunday, which said the trio were arrested before they could kill a rhino. The first man was arrested on June 6 and two others were caught two days later. These arrest bring the number of alleged poachers caught inside the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park this year to five. "The Park has been under siege since the beginning of 2022.
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SA_2022_06_Three alleged poachers arrested in Hluhluwe_KZN_The Witness.pdf | 504.9 KB |
Magma Security and Investigations said while their officers were patrolling in the Karkloof area, a suspicious vehicle was observed on a client’s property just after 2am, on Sunday morning. It said that upon stopping the vehicle, the officers found six occupants with six dogs. "They had poached and killed two warthogs and six porcupines. Knives were found in their possession. Suspects were handed over to Howick SAPS," said Magma Magma Security and Investigations.
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SA_2022_05_Six alleged poachers arrested in a Howick Farm in KZN_The WitnessSA.pdf | 387.43 KB |
The South African National Parks (SANParks) warned people on Saturday about a video circulating on social media depicting a "severely injured White Rhino cow", saying it was "distressing to watch". In a statement, SANParks said that its rhino dehorning team made the gruesome discovery of a badly mutilated female rhino in the South of the Kruger National Park (KNP) on Thursday. "According to the SANParks Veterinarian and the Section Ranger who attended to the rhino, it appeared as if the animal had been shot a few days prior to being found.
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SA_2021_12_SANParks warns of video of distressed rhino cow_shot and hacked by poachers_The Witness.pdf | 637.31 KB |
Germany on Tuesday granted Tanzania 71 million Euros (about 82.3 million U.S. dollars) for financing various projects, including those initiated to fight poaching and prevent human-wildlife conflicts. An agreement to the grant was signed in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam by Tanzania’s deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Amina Shaaban, and Marcus von Essen, head of the East Africa Division in the Federal German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
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TAN_2021_10_Tanzania gets grant for projects of fighting poaching improving water access_News Ghana.pdf | 154.87 KB |
On 4 August 2021 at about 08:00 a suspect was apprehended after he was found in possession of a pangolin at his farm house under Lephalale policing area.
South African National Parks (SANParks) has welcomed sentences imposed for rhino poaching related crimes in two separate cases that have been finalised in Mpumalanga.The trials were concluded in the Mhala regional court in February and March. In one matter three people who were arrested in August 2018 were convicted of rhino poaching related charges including possession of two sets of rhino horns, a high calibre hunting rifle, ammunition and trespassing in a national park with the intention of committing crime as well as the illegal hunting of an endangered animal.
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SA_2021_03_SANParks welcomes sentences for rhino poaching related crimes_The Witness.pdf | 435.56 KB |
Northern Cape-The Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation has resulted in the arrest of a 48-year-old suspect for allegedly trading in a pangolin. The suspect who originates from Botswana was arrested on Tuesday after information surfaced that he intended selling a pangolin that is an endangered species. A sting operation resulted in the suspect being arrested after he was found in possession of the said pangolin.
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SA_2020-06_Services_SAPS.pdf | 134.41 KB |
South Africa is escalating the fight against poaching using different means and collaborating with other countries in the midst of increased activity by illegal hunters, said South African National Parks (SANParks) on Tuesday.
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SA_2020-02_South African national parks declare war on poachers.pdf | 115.2 KB |
The Provincial Commissioner of Police in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has welcomed the conviction and sentencing of three rhino poaching accused, including two Zimbabwean nationals by the Mahwelereng Regional Court on 31 March 2025.
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SA_2025_04_South African Police Service_SAPS.pdf | 59.08 KB |