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Illegally removing tortoises from the wild - the dark side of wildlife crimes in South Africa A silent crime in the veld - Every year across South Africa, countless tortoises disappear from their natural habitats. What seems harmless "rescuing" or "keeping one as a pet" is actually a serious wildlife crime. Many of these tortoises are taken illegally from the wild to be sold in the pet trade, smuggled across borders, or kept in captivity where they often die from stress, malnutrition, or disease.

Traffickers of ivory, pangolin scales, and other endangered wildlife in Nigeria now risk up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to N12 million if found guilty. These penalties are contained in the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill, 2024, which was approved by the Senate on Tuesday. The Bill, already passed by the House of Representatives in May 2025, has been forwarded to the President for assent.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) law enforcement from the Special Operations Unit (SOU) uncovered extensive evidence linking a business in Los Angeles County to suspected trafficking of animal parts, including rhino horn and elephant ivory. CDFW investigators discovered what appears to be at least nine rhino horns, thousands of pieces of elephant ivory, several large, intricately carved tusks and a sea turtle shell. All samples will be tested and identified at CDFW's Wildlife Forensics Lab.

Namibia's big ivory gambit: The flashpoint is Namibia's Proposal 13, which seeks CITES approval to sell more than 46 tonnes of government-owned raw ivory stockpiles for commercial purposes. Namibia argues the sale would be a one-off transaction with CITES Secretariat-verified trading partners, generating conservation revenue. The funds, they argue, would support conservation and rural communities. The secretariat, however, has raised serious concerns.

A church leader who seemingly ignored the commandment against theft was arrested in Oshakati this week when he was allegedly found not only in possession of stolen goods, but also in possession of a live tortoise, which he kept covered under a metal drum in the backyard of his rental house. Besides the illegal possession of protected game, suspected stolen goods were also found in the 40-year-old pastor's house, including four solar batteries of 100Ah each, a computer monitor, one solar charge controller, one solar inverter, and a large black bag.

Despite Africa's elephants and rhinos still living under serious threat from poaching and illegal trade, Namibia is pushing hard to resume ivory and horn sales. From 23 November to 5 December, representatives of the 185 countries that are signatories to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will gather in Samarkand, Uzbekistan for the 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP20).

Nairobi - The National Police Service (NPS) officers, in collaboration with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), have arrested two suspects in Maralal Town, Samburu County, for possession of elephant tusks valued at approximately Sh1.1 million. According to a statement from the NPS, the joint operation was conducted on Sunday, following an intelligence-led mission by officers from Samburu Central Sub-County. The two suspects were intercepted while transporting seven pieces of elephant tusks weighing about 11.33 kilograms, which had been concealed inside a bag.