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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.

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Displaying results 1 - 17 of 17
Sunday, 30 July 2023
2023. Foreigners fuel Zimbabwe's wildlife illicit financial flows.

According to Zimparks statistics that were released to this publication, there is a significant increase in the number of foreigners that have been arrested for poaching this year. In the first half of 2023, 10 foreigners were arrested for poaching in Zimbabwe compared to six who were nabbed through out 2022. One hundred and eighty two locals were arrested for poaching in the first half of this year while in 2022, 644 Zimbabweans were charged for illegal hunting. Zimparks, a statutory body responsible for managing the country's wildlife population, said elephants…

Friday, 28 July 2023
2023. Lundazi trio jailed for unlawful possession of game meat.

ZAW officers in Livingstone on Sunday killed an elephant that attacked 1 36 year old man of Simoonga village. Below, members of the community share the meat of the elephant in question Three people in Lumezi District have been sentenced to one month imprisonment with hard labour for unlawful possession of a government trophy.

Thursday, 27 July 2023
Smit E 2023. Special wildlife crime courts highly effective.

Assets and goods seized and forfeited to the state during the finalisation of wildlife crime cases at special courts last year were valued at more than N$4 million. The seized items included illegal wildlife products, firearms and vehicles used in wildlife crimes. According to the Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement Report in Namibia, the judicial system faces a range of challenges in dealing with high rates of crime and ensuring justice is served; a central hurdle is a growing backlog of cases on the court rolls. "This has…

Wednesday, 26 July 2023
2023. Six suspected poachers arrested in Bulawayo and Vic Falls.

Six suspected poachers have been arrested in separate incidents in Bulawayo and Victoria Falls with the police recovering four ivory tusks and 10,5kg of kudu meat. The arrest comes afer the police declared war on poaching syndicates countrywide. In a statement, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrests.

Monday, 24 July 2023
Smit E 2023. Elefantenwilderei geht zurück.

Rund 24 000 Elefanten leben derzeit in Nambia. Die Aufzeichnungen über Elefantenwilderei in Namibia waren im vergangenen Jahr auf dem niedrigsten Stand seit 2016. Laut dem Bericht "Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement in Namibia" wurden im Jahr 2022 "nur vier" Elefanten gewildert, verglichen mit 2016, als 101 Elefanten durch Wilderer abgeschossen wurden. In den folgenden Jahren sanken die Wildereivorfälle immer mehr.

Friday, 21 July 2023
Smit E 2023. Olifantstropery die laagste sedert 2016.

Verlede jaar was olifantstroperysyfers in Namibië die laagste sedert 2016. Skuldigbevindings is egter steeds ver agter arrestasies wat in stroperysake gemaak is. Volgens die verslag oor wildbeskerming en wetstoepassing in Namibië is slegs vier olifante in 2022 gestroop vergeleke met 2016 se 101. Die volgende jaar het stroperyvoorvalle tot 50 afgeneem, terwyl 27 olifante in 2018, 13 in 2019, 12 in 2020 en agt in 2021 gestroop is. Statistieke toon verder dat daar verlede jaar beslag gelê is op 55 olifanttande, 64 verdagtes is in…

Thursday, 20 July 2023
2023. Court jails 4 foreigners for trafficking animals in Lagos.

The convicts were placed on trial for illegal possession, dealing in, assembling, storing, smuggling, and trading in pangolin scale and elephant ivory.

Tuesday, 18 July 2023
2023. More needs to be done to protect wildlife - National Report on Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement.

The country's anti-poaching and crime prevention initiatives managed to arrest 75 suspects in 106 cases related to rhino poaching in Namibia in 2022, a report released last week noted. The year 2022 saw the most rhinos poached in the country since 2015 when the first major poaching wave in independent Namibia peaked, the National Report on Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement in Namibia revealed. The released report is based on data compiled via the Integrated Database of Wildlife Crime in Namibia, as well as related firsthand information and observations by…

Friday, 14 July 2023
2023. Research details how corruption fuels wildlife crimes.

Corruption is the air that wildlife crime breathes; it is one of the key enablers of widespread and large-scale wildlife trafficking and one of the biggest obstacles to effective law enforcement. This is according to the Wildlife Justice Commission’s new report focusing on the role of corruption as one of the most important enabling factors behind wildlife crime. The report, "Dirty Money: The Role of Corruption in Enabling Wildlife Crime", presents a collection of case examples to illustrate the mechanisms and modalities of corruption in real terms - how it…

Thursday, 6 July 2023
2023. Police officer, parks ranger jailed 9 years for possession of ivory.

HArare - A police constable has been sentenced to nine years in jail after he and his accomplice, an ex-cop and Zimparks employee, were found in possession of unmarked ivory in 2022.

Saturday, 1 July 2023
2023. Kenya vows to combat illegal trade in iconic species via enhanced partnership.

Kenya will enhance partnerships with neighboring countries and regional blocs in a bid to protect abundant natural resources like wildlife from the clutches of organized crime, an official has said.

Sunday, 27 December 2020
2020. Renosterhoring, ivoor op Swakop-plot gevind.

‘n Bejaarde man is gister by die Swakopmundrivier-plotte glo met ‘n ou renosterhoring en vyf stukke olifanttande in sy besit vasgetrek. Volgens die Namibiese polisie se misdaadverslag volg die inhegtenisneming van die 69-jarige man nadat die volgende ander items ná ‘n soektog glo in sy besit gevind is: 27 patrone van ‘n .308-geweer, twee patrone van ‘n R1- outomatiese aanvalsgeweer en 33 patrone van ‘n .22-vuurwapen.

Tuesday, 15 December 2020
Tjivikua JB 2020. The fate of ivory stockpiles.

An intense debate continues to rage over whether the Namibian government should maintain its existing stockpiles of collected legal and confiscated illegal ivory. Trading in valuable wildlife products is one of the most important incentives for Namibia's coexistence with wildlife, especially rhinos and elephants, to support its conservation. There are two categories of stockpiles: Those held legally and those held illegally. Legally-held stockpiles consist of raw ivory, and are mostly owned by the government under the Controlled Wildlife Products and Trade Act 9 of 2008…

Thursday, 10 December 2020
2020. 12 elephants killed in Tanzania by poachers.

At least 12 elephants have been killed in Tanzania in the past three months in what the country's national parks watchdog has described as a new wave of poaching.

Thursday, 10 December 2020
Eock P 2020. Cameroon: The arrest of six presumed traffickers of ivory.

The suspects belong to an organized ivory trafficking network whose ramifications extend as far as Nigeria. Six suspected ivory traffickers were arrested in early December in the eastern region of Cameroon, in a joint operation by the departmental delegation of the Ministry of Forests and Wildlife and the police. This operation was carried out with technical assistance from LAGA, an NGO specializing in law enforcement on wildlife. Two of the suspects were arrested on December 2 in Bertoua, the regional capital, with four ivory tusks, two of which came from baby…

Tuesday, 8 December 2020
Legesse G 2020. Ethiopia: EBI steps up measures to combat poaching.

Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute (EBI) has formulated a wildlife protection project setting up a task force project to end ivory poaching and trafficking. It as well would introduce much stronger custodial sentences, if criminals are caught with Illegal Wildlife Trade. Kumera Wakjira, Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority General Director, said that the project is aimed at combatting wildlife crime. Kumera added that the project has set up an Environmental Crime Unit and regional task forces to combat wildlife crime.

Thursday, 3 December 2020
Ro C 2020. Convicted poachers in South Africa explain why heavy policing is ineffective.

It's clear why the illegal wildlife trade exists. Where there's consumer demand for products from endangered species, there are bound to be networks seeking to profit from that demand. But what about the motivations of individual offenders? TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade NGO, decided to simply ask them. The researchers interviewed 73 people in South African correctional centers, who had been convicted of crimes related to rhinos, abalone, or cycads (ancient palm-like plants that have been called "the world's most endangered plants").

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