Search results

At least 110 countries are now involved in illegal trade in wildlife - more than doubling from 49 in 2000. Trade connections jumped by more than 400%, according to a recent analysis of global wildlife seizure data. Asia, rather than Europe, is now the centre of illegal trade for most species, the study found, sparked by extensive trading, business and diplomatic connections with Africa - the source for many wildlife products.

On March 9, wildlife authorities in Zambia arrested 10 people in possession of 550 kilograms (1,212 pounds) of ivory, according to the U.K.-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), which provided intelligence that led to the arrests. EIA said the case highlights the impact that international cooperation can have in the fight against the illegal trade of wildlife. In a Mar.

What began as an audacious racket to launder rhino horns has unravelled into the biggest wildlife trafficking bust in years, dragging the Department of Home Affairs into the spotlight and exposing Vietnam's shadowy passport and visa processes. Investigations and reports by the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC and other conservation bodies have revealed disturbing evidence of organised crime in South Africa, including the frequent involvement of transnational Vietnamese syndicates in wildlife trafficking.

The recent joint operation conducted by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism, alongside the Namibian Police and Namibian Defense Force, led to the apprehension of Zambian individuals engaged in cross-border poaching activities. The operation aimed at a syndicate that utilized the Zambezi region as a pathway for trafficking wildlife products from Botswana. The operation resulted in the seizure of 24 elephant tusks, 12 bundles of elephant tails, two pots, two knives for butchering, one air mattress, and a silver Nissan Latino car.

Three individuals were arrested over the weekend in connection with the alleged illegal hunting of an elephant at Omugulugombashe village in the Tsandi constituency of the Omusati region. According to regional police commander commissioner Ismael Basson, the elephant which later killed a 46-year-old woman was shot last Wednesday at around 22h00 in a mahangu field at the village. "It is alleged that the suspects hunted a specially protected animal, an elephant, in contravention of the Nature Conservation Ordinance," Basson says.

The U.S. Ambassador to Namibia, John Giordano, recently hosted a high-level counter wildlife trafficking roundtable at the United States Embassy in Windhoek, to strengthen cooperation against transnational environmental crime. The meeting brought together local conservation leaders and U.S. government officials. Participants discussed progress in arrests and convictions, regional coordination efforts, investigative capacity-building, and the intersection between wildlife trafficking and other transnational crimes, including narcotics and human trafficking.

Free State, South Africa (03 March 2026) - Behind every online advert for a wild tortoise is a creature stolen from its natural habitat - ripped from the very environment it depends on to survive. This growing wildlife injustice is one that the Wildlife Crime Information Network tirelessly fights to curb. Every day, the team receives reports of tortoises and other wildlife illegally removed from the wild to be kept as pets. These animals are often deprived of water, food, and freedom, or are exploited for food and traditional medicine (muti).

On paper, Zimbabwe is winning the fight against poaching. In places such as Hwange National Park, the numbers tell a hopeful story. Elephant poaching has fallen sharply. In the past five years, recorded cases dropped from roughly 100 elephants killed annually in and around Hwange to about 20 animals poached outside the park in 2025, with none killed inside the park for two consecutive years. These are not small gains.