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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 - 23 of 23
Friday, 25 February 2022
2022. Volle Gerichte auf Grund von Wilderei.

Nahezu 80 Namibier erschienen diesen Monat wegen Wilderei vor Gericht. In den ersten drei Februarwochen wurden neun neue Fälle von Wildtierkriminalität registriert und Verdächtige festgenommen. In diesem Zeitraum fanden außerdem insgesamt 33 Gerichtsverhandlungen zu Fällen von Wildtierkriminalität statt, an denen 79 Namibier und sieben Ausländer beteiligt waren. Dies geht aus statistischen Berichten über Wilderei hervor, die von der Abteilung für Schutzressourcen innerhalb der Sicherheitsabteilung und der Geheimdienst- und Ermittlungseinheit des Umweltministeriums…

Thursday, 24 February 2022
Dube-Matutu S 2022. Man arrested after being found with elephant tusks.

A man has been arrested for unlawful possession of ivory after he was found with two elephant tusks. Police confirmed the arrest which occurred in Victoria Falls on February 21.

Sunday, 20 February 2022
2022. Mozambique: Eleven elephant tusks seized in Tete.

Officers of Mozambique's National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) have seized eleven elephant tusks in a house in the western city of Tete, according to a report in Sunday's on-line issue of the independent daily "O Pais".

Saturday, 19 February 2022
Chikoti M 2022. UN says wildlife crime in Malawi needs to be fully addressed.

United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator Malawi Rudolf Schwenk says the increased trends in poaching of animals such as elephants and pangolins in Malawi is very worrying and if left unaddressed, wildlife trafficking will continue to be a threat to achievement of sustainable development in the country.

Thursday, 17 February 2022
Ghai R 2022. Single criminal syndicate could be behind ivory poaching in east, southern Africa: Study.

A single transnational criminal network may be poaching elephants across southern and eastern Africa, a new study has claimed. The criminals may be trying to shift base to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from east Africa, warned the report published February 14, 2022, in the journal Nature Human Behaviour. Such criminal networks may be seeking to use porous borders of the DRC as well as the weak rule of law there to their advantage, the study said.

Wednesday, 16 February 2022
Masika C 2022. Man in court for trying to sell Sh300,000 tusks to cops.

The charge sheet says the tusks weighed three kilograms, worth Sh300,000.

Tuesday, 15 February 2022
Siamilandu O 2022. Zimbabwe join forces with other southern Africa countries in combating wildlife crime.

Zimbabwe has partnered four other states in the Kavango Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA) in an agreement which will see them joining forces to combat wildlife crime. The four states that will work with Zimbabwe to defend their borders against wildlife threats are Angola, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia.

Tuesday, 15 February 2022
Dunham W 2022. Elephant tusk DNA sleuthing reveals ivory trafficking networks.

DNA testing on seized ivory shipments that reveals family ties among African elephants killed for their tusks is helping to identify poaching areas and trafficking networks at the centre of an illegal trade that continues to devastate the population of earth's largest land animal.

Thursday, 10 February 2022
Onyenucheya A 2022. Nigeria: Customs intercepts N3.1bn pangolin scales, elephant tusks enroute Asia.

The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), in collaboration with the Wildlife Justice Commission, has intercepted pangolin scales and elephant tusks worth N3.1billion being transported through Nigeria to Asia. The Controller General of Customs, Hameed Ali, who disclosed this yesterday while displaying the seized items to journalists at the Customs Training College, Ikeja, Lagos, said 15 sacks of pangolin scales (839.4kg) and four sacks of elephant tusks (145kg) were intercepted in a Toyota Sienna bus with registration number KRD 541 HH at Lekki on February 2, 2022.

Friday, 4 February 2022
2022. Zimbabwe records progress against wildlife crimes.

There has been a great improvement in the handling of wildlife crimes in the country's courts of law following an accelerated mentorship drive for prosecutors and magistrates on the subject, a wildlife rights proponent has said.

Tuesday, 29 June 2021
2021. Zim man, lover arrested in Botswana for illegal ivory possession.

A Zimbabwean man, charged together with his girlfriend for unlawful possession of elephant tusks, has saved his co-accused from further legal woes after telling the court she knew nothing of the ivory.

Thursday, 17 June 2021
Taylor L 2021. Poaching declines in Tanzania following prosecution of ivory trafficking ringleaders.

Once known as the world's elephant killing fields, Tanzania appears to have halted the worst ivory poaching within its borders, making more than 2,300 arrests of poachers and traffickers over five years.

Thursday, 17 June 2021
Taylor L 2021. Tanzania's "Ivory Queen" denied release after appeal.

One of the world's most infamous ivory traffickers will remain in prison in Tanzania after an appeal judge sent her case back to a lower court. The high court accepted there were anomalies in the original written judgment against Yang Fenglan, but declined her attorney's application for her release. Between 2009 and 2014, poachers reduced Tanzania’s elephant population by 60%, according to a government census. In response, Tanzania developed a strategy of intelligence-led investigations.

Saturday, 12 June 2021
Majola D 2021. South Africa: NW man handed an 8-year sentence for possession of elephant ivory.

Johannesburg - A man in the North West has on Thursday been sentenced to eight years for keeping elephant ivory worth over R1 million in his house. Moabi Moribe has been on the run since 2018.

Friday, 11 June 2021
Walter J 2021. Kenya: 'Stop killing the elephants!' Worry as rampant poaching threatens wildlife.

The killing of two elephants in Kalacha this week has once again shone the spotlight on rampant poaching in Marsabit County, which is threatening to wipe out wildlife in the region. Authorities recovered two rifles and four rounds of ammunition in a security operation following the incident. County Police Commander Martin Kibet said a bullet obtained from one of the carcasses would be subjected to ballistic testing. The two elephants were killed when they strayed from Marsabit Forest via Hurri Hills into Kalacha. A third elephant was rescued by Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)…

Thursday, 10 June 2021
2021. Mozambique: Police arrest two men with 11 elephant tusks.

The Mozambican police in Maputo arrested two men in possession of 11 elephant tusks suspected to be intended for illegal ivory trafficking, the police announced on Tuesday. The two Mozambicans were arrested at their home, where they were keeping the tusks. The  National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) action was triggered after a complaint from the public.

Wednesday, 9 June 2021
2021. Significant arrests of wildlife crime perpetrators continues.

The latest wildlife crime statistics indicate that four rhinos and one elephant have been poached to date, as law enforcement operations continue to bag perpetrators, an official said this week. From the beginning of June, law enforcement agencies have made significant arrests of wildlife criminals involving products of high valued species across the country, the Ministry of Environment spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda said in an update.

Tuesday, 8 June 2021
Shikongo A 2021. Police, military officers arrested over wildlife crime.

Among the items seized from the suspects are four elephant tusks, two rhino horns, one live pangolin, a giraffe skin and a pangolin skin.

Tuesday, 8 June 2021
2021. Guruve duo nabbed for ivory possession.

Two Mbire men have appeared at the Guruve Magistrates Court after being arrested in possession of 34kg of ivory and looking for a buyer.

Saturday, 5 June 2021
Tullis P 2021. Closing ivory loopholes to save Africa's greatest mammal.

Currently going for about $3,300 (about R46 000) per pound, the global trade in ivory is worth about $23 billion annually, a reality made plain by the gruesome photos of butchered elephants that have become almost commonplace. In recent years, massive seizures of ivory seemed to signal a headlong rush toward extermination. In response, the EU this year proposed a near total ban on the trade of ivory anywhere in the bloc.

Friday, 4 June 2021
2021. Skukuza poachers get 8 years imprisonment.

Two more poachers, caught on South African soil, were sentenced today after they killed an elephant in November 2018 in the Skukuza National Park.

Wednesday, 2 June 2021
2021. Two remanded in custody for alleged possession of elephant tusk.

The two men who were allegedly found with a freshly removed elephant tusk in their possession at Gam in the Tsumkwe Constituency Saturday night, were on Monday remanded in police custody at Tsumkwe. The 23-year-old Karuhava Kahaka and Vekotokeraije Keharara, 38, appeared in the Tsumkwe Periodical Court on Monday on charges of dealing in and/or possession of a prohibited game product.

Wednesday, 2 June 2021
Smit E 2021. 39 court hearings on wildlife crime.

Out of the 39 court hearings on wildlife crimes during May, only two cases were finalised, with two suspects found guilty. At Katutura, 29-year-old Kavijenene Kaemui was found guilty for the illegal possession of a pangolin skin on 17 May and sentenced to a fine of N$10 000 (N$4 000 suspended) or 24 months in prison (12 months suspended). In another matter at Kamanjab, Josef Selvarius Karunga (38) was arrested on 28 September 2020 for the illegal possession of a python.

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