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On Thursday morning, a notice of appeal was filed with the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism to revoke the Environmental Impact Certificates (ECC), according to which mining was allowed in the protected and conservanial areas southwest of Khorixas. This came after the High Court temporarily banned all mining operations in the area in an urgent procedure until the environmental officer Timoteus Mufeti made a decision on the mining applications of Timoteus Mashuna and Otilie Ndeshetelwa Ndimulunde.

A total of 46 rhinos, including 35 black and 11 white rhinos, have been killed in the Etosha National Park by poachers so far in 2024, minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Pohamba Shifeta has said. He made the announcement in the capital last week during the donation of 22 vehicles and information technology (IT) equipment, valued at N$19.8 million to the ministry by the Integrated Wildlife Protection Project. The donation was co-financed by the German state-owned KfW Development Bank.

A 45-year-old Zambian man was arrested in the Lubuta area of the Zambezi Region on Saturday for possession of six elephant tusks without a permit. According to the police, the man was arrested near the Lubuta-Sachona Gravel Road following an intelligence-led covert operation. The suspect was allegedly found with six elephant tusks, which had been cut into 12 pieces. The value of the tusks has not yet been determined. The suspect is expected to make his first court appearance today, at the Katima Mulilo Magistrates' Court.

The country has recorded a decrease in arrests related to the poaching of rhinos, elephants, and pangolins, but authorities say more work is needed to combat the ongoing threat from international poaching syndicates. Speaking at a handover of donated vehicles last week, the Minister of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta said combined arrests for rhino and elephant poaching dropped from 143 last year to 91 this year. Pangolin-related crimes also saw a decline, with 30 cases recorded this year compared to 60 last year, Shifeta added.

Police in the Zambezi region on Saturday afternoon arrested a 45-year-old Zambian man over illegal possession of wildlife products. The suspect was charged over possession and dealing in controlled wildlife products without a permit and for being in Namibia without valid documents. According to the weekend crime report, the suspect was found with six elephant tusks cut into twelve pieces.

September was a busy month for the SWT/KWS Anti-Poaching Teams. The teams covered 14,197 kilometres on patrol, making several significant arrests, and supported a number of orphan rescues, veterinary treatments, firefighting operations, and field emergencies. It is the height of the dry season, which brings a reliable uptick in illegal activities.

Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta has revealed plans to submit a Cabinet proposal to allow Namibia to sell or dispose of its tonnes of ivory and rhino horn stockpiles. In May, five nations that make up the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) trans-frontier conservation area: Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, and Angola jointly called for the lifting of a ban on ivory sales imposed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Ryan Tate is supposed to be in South Africa right now helping to fight off poachers who hack horns off rhinos and kill elephants for their ivory tusks. But since the country announced a national lockdown in March to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Tate is stuck in the U.S. He can't join his team out in South Africa's wilderness and can't meet with private donors in the U.S. for his anti-poaching nonprofit organization, which is seeing donations dry up.

The effects of poaching and climate change are keenly felt In Zambia and Zimbabwe. This ecological
frontline is manned by innovative, but under-funded conservation units, with tourism supporting the survival
of some of Africa’s rarest species.

Parliament has recommended amendments to the Wildlife Act to provide protection for whistleblowers and ensure stiff penalties for those found in possession of cyanide, a dangerous chemical often used by poachers to poison elephants.

According to the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), 322 elephants were killed by poachers between 2016 and 2019, largely for their tusks. These are then shipped out to Asia, via South Africa, but the real number may be much higher, according to wildlife groups. Much of the poaching occurs in northern Zimbabwe in game reserves straddling the border with Zambia, according to ZimParks, a statutory body responsible for managing the country’s wildlife population.

Arrests for wildlife crime involving high-value species like elephants, rhinos and pangolins, increased by 36% in 2019 compared to the year before.

Handel mit Wildtierprodukten: Behörden nehmen fünf Tatverdächtige in drei getrennten Fällen fest. Die Behörden haben am vergangenen Wochenende mehrere mutmaßliche Schmuggler mit illegalen Wildtierprodukten verhaftet. Das geht aus dem gestern in Windhoek veröffentlichten Polizeibericht hervor, der von fünf Festnahmen in drei getrennten Fällen berichtet. Es seien bei den Einsätzen insgesamt vier Schuppentier-Panzer, zwei Leopardenfelle und zwei Elefantenstoßzähne sichergestellt worden.

Drie Angolese mans en 'n Namibiër is Saterdag glo met twee olifanttande en ietermagôprodukte in die Akati-nedersetting by Outapi vasgetrek.

Three Angolan men and a Namibian were reportedly apprehended in the Akati settlement at Outapi on Saturday with two elephant teeth and pangolin products.

During last year, an estimated 12 elephants and 45 rhinos were poached during 2019, the ministry of environment and tourism’s wildlife crime report of 2019 shows. The ministry seized 116 elephant tusks and 8 rhino horns during the year, however, the reported notes that the number of elephant tusks seized does not relate directly to the number of elephants killed in Namibia, as some tusks may originate from elephants killed in neighbouring countries. The year under review saw wildlife crime cases registered (high-value species only) at 174 with 92 cases related to…

Wildlife crime has become one of the central conservation challenges in Namibia, with a total of 174 wildlife species poached in the country last year alone. This number signifies an increase, as 115 were poached in 2018.

The ministry of environment says its anti-poaching activities will not be hindered by the rapidly spreading coronavirus, which has forced many countries, Namibia included, into a lockdown.