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Namibian Wildlife Crimes article archive

This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:

  • provide easy public access to published information and statistics
  • enable easy stakeholder access to articles
  • provide a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia

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.

Explore your search results using the filter checkboxes, or amend your search or start a new search.

Displaying results 1 - 12 of 12
Saturday, 30 July 2022
Chikoti M 2022. Man nabbed for possessing ivory.

Police in Mangochi have arrested a 50-year old man for possession of nine pieces of ivory.

Thursday, 28 July 2022
Muchiri C 2022. Zim anti-poaching unit receives award.

"This award to the ranger team has come despite operating in the face of adversity, with the results of a positive growth population of rhino." "Under the protection of ATS, the rhino population in Save Valley Conservancy has seen a biological growth rate of 7%, this is above the 5% IUCN recommendation for game reserves protecting rhino, and maintained a poaching mortality rate of below 2%, also IUCN recommended," the WCPA statement read.

Friday, 22 July 2022
2022. Nigeria: Three foreigners Aarraigned over pangolin, tusk smuggling.

The Nigeria Customs Services (NCS) yesterday brought seven men before the Federal High Court in Lagos for alleged illegal possession dealing, assembling, storing, smuggling and trading in pangolin skin and elephant's ivory.

Friday, 22 July 2022
Twahirwa A 2022. East African countries seek cross-border cooperation to combat wildlife trafficking.

Kigali: For many years, East African countries were considered wildlife trafficking hotspots. Now conservation organisations have started to mobilise all stakeholders to combat the illegal trade that targets animals – some to the edge of extinction.

Thursday, 21 July 2022
2022. Zimbabwean, foreigner nabbed over elephant tusks.

Two men have been arrested in Bulawayo after they were found in possession of 20,5 kilogrammes of elephant tusks.

Wednesday, 20 July 2022
Smit E 2022. Two arrested for possession of protected plants.

A Namibian and a Chinese national were arrested in Okahandja on Saturday after they were found in possession of 27 protected plant species. The confiscated items included four Elephant's foot plants, 15 Cyphostemma, eight Commiphora, in addition to five plastic bags containing Welwitchia seeds and 12 bags filled with a variety of unidentified seeds. The suspects were arrested after ministry officials followed up on video footage they had obtained, showing two persons collecting the protected plants, reportedly around Usakos.

Wednesday, 20 July 2022
2022. Environment Ministry continues to combat illegal harvesting of protected plants and trees.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT) recently announced the confiscation of 75 wood planks that are believed to have been illegally harvested in the Kavango region area after a tip-off from the public, an official said this week. All harvesting of trees and wood, anywhere in Namibia, is governed by the Forest Act and its Regulations. "The planks are believed to have been illegally harvested from farms that are in Ncamagoro in the Kavango West Region," MEFT spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda said in a statement.

Wednesday, 20 July 2022
2022. Two dealers get five years sentence for illegal possession of Government trophy.

Facts before court were that on 1 April 2022 the duo whilst acting together possessed a prescribed trophy namely elephant ivory weighing 25 KG and valued at K 90,467 without a certificate of ownership issued by the Director General the Zambia Wildlife Authority.

Monday, 18 July 2022
David M 2022. Two arrested for protected plant species.

Two men were on Saturday arrested after being found in possession of protected plant species at Okahandja.
The duo, a Namibian and Chinese national were found with four Adenia pechuelii (elephant foot) plants; 15xCyphostema plants; eight Commphoras plants; five plastics containing Welwitschia seeds and 12x plastics with differentunidentified seeds. Ministry of Environment spokesperson Romeo Muyunda stated that this came after Ministry officials followed up on avideo in which the two suspects were seen collecting protected plants reportedly in the area of Usakos.

Monday, 18 July 2022
Reiter C 2022. Im Besitz von drei Elefantenstosszähnen - Verdächtiger verhaftet.

In einer weiteren gemeinsamen Operation von Beamten des Umweltministeriums, Spezialkräften und der Abteilung für geschützte Ressourcen der namibischen Polizei, wurde ein Verdächtiger in der Sambesi-Region festgenommen, nachdem er im Besitz von drei Elefantenstoßzähnen angetroffen wurde. Er bot die Stoßzähne einem verdeckten Ermittler zum Verkauf an. Der 33 Jahre alte Verdächtige wurde am 14. Juli in Katima Mulilo verhaftet. Die drei Elefantenstoßzähne waren laut des Berichts des Umweltministeriums in 13 Stücke geschnitten.

Saturday, 16 July 2022
Wagiet R 2022. Plant poachers arrested for illegally harvesting indigenous plants in Cape Town.

Field rangers at the Tygerberg Nature Reserve managed to apprehend poachers who were illegally removing bulbs and indigenous plants from one of the hiking trails. On Tuesday, 12 July 2022, the Tygerberg Nature Reserve staff were alerted by a visitor to three individuals who seemed to be removing plants from one of the hiking trails.

Friday, 8 July 2022
2022. Uganda's special court clamps down on wildlife crime.

A special court established in Uganda, called the Standards, Utilities and Wildlife Court, was "critical to the country's economic development", then Chief Justice Bart Katureebe noted at its launch in 2017. "Access to justice in this area has the capacity to promote investment in critical areas of the economy, protection of the environment, public health and ethical trade practices," he said. Between July 2020 and June 2021, the court handled 468 wildlife crime cases.

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