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Katima Mulilo - Three individuals, Nyambe Calvin Matomola, John Mwelwa, and Nziye Lusinyize, have been brought before the Katima Mulilo Magistrate's Court for alleged possession of controlled wildlife products. The trio was apprehended with a total of 39 elephant tusks, leading to their court appearance on Tuesday. Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda, revealed that Matomola, along with seven Zambian nationals, was caught with 24 tusks after smuggling them into Namibia via the Zambezi Region.

In a crucial operation towards wildlife protection, a Mozambican national has been arrested at Namwera, Mangochi, charged with the illegal possession of a protected wildlife species. The arrest, a serious violation of section 110(b) of the National Parks and Wildlife Act, signifies the ongoing fight against wildlife trafficking, a crime increasingly crossing national boundaries and threatening global biodiversity. Caught in the act was 26-year-old Moses Paul Banda, a Mozambican citizen.

Three Hurungwe men who captured themselves on camera killing an elephant using traditional weapons and dogs yesterday appeared before Kariba magistrate accused of hunting or removing any animal or part of the animal in a safari area without a permit. Francis Chigomararwa (30), Simeon Kezias (23) and Arthur Murimbika (24) all from Nyamakate area are also facing another charge of killing a buffalo.The accused were unlucky when a video went viral of them killing an elephant after setting their dogs on it before attacking it using spears and axes.

The police constable and a civilian had been arrested in Nairobi West and Eastleigh with the cargo on Sunday. They had tried to sell the trophies to Kenya Wildlife Service ocials who had posed as potential buyers.

Botswana and Namibia have embarked on a joint investigation into the increased incidents of elephant poaching in the northern part of Botswana. "The country (Botswana) experienced a surge in elephant poaching incidents during November and December 2023," Lesego Kgomanyane, the spokesperson for Botswana's Ministry of Environment and Tourism, told Xinhua over the telephone, noting that the development has shone the light on the apparent increase in poaching of elephants in northern Botswana.

Tanzanian police said on Friday they have seized 10 pieces of ivory weighing 23 kilograms and arrested two suspected poachers in connection with illegal possession of the ivory.

There has been a continued downward trend in elephant poaching in parts of Africa, data shows. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) programme for Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) has published its annual report analysing trends regarding illegally killed elephants in Africa, based on data collected by MIKE sites on the continent. Namibia boasts two of these sites - in the Etosha National Park and in the Zambezi Region.

Etosha - Although poaching of endangered species such as rhino and elephant have been reported to be minimal in the Etosha National Park, environment minister Pohamba Shifeta has called on law enforcement officials to do ballistic testing among communities adjacent to the park. Shifeta made the call Wednesday when he was briefed on the security situation cluster on antipoaching operation 'Yes Ongava' phase 18 in the Etosha National Park.

During the month-long Operation Thunder, Border Force officers at ports and airports made 178 seizures containing thousands of products regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). These included elephant tusks and other ivory goods, live corals and reptile skin products. Border Force also made a number of non-CITES seizures including heroin, cocaine, cannabis and cigarettes.

Zambia is leading a push for African countries to obtain a CITES waiver that would allow them to legally export ivory stockpiles. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has an international ban on trade and sale of ivory and related products. Southern African countries have accrued huge stockpiles of ivory worth millions of dollars over the decades. The stockpiles mostly constitute ivory from elephants culled for conservation and ecological purposes.

Namibian conservation efforts have faced a number of major crises over the past half century.