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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.

Explore your search results using the filter checkboxes, or amend your search or start a new search.

Displaying results 1 - 9 of 9
Sunday, 22 May 2022
Manika C 2022. Poachers kill endangered painted dogs in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park.

Endangered African painted dogs are at the risk of local extinction due to poachers hunting other wildlife at Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park. The painted dogs are victims of rampant poaching by local and international syndicates hunting for wildlife such as buffaloes and elephants. Although poachers have no interest in painted dogs themselves, they become victims of snares or poisoned water sources meant for other game. The destruction of their habitants is also cited as one of the reasons why the painted dogs face extinction. "It’s not about the painted dogs only.

Tuesday, 17 May 2022
2022. Wilderer werden bei Polizeieinsatz verhaftet.

Ein weiteres Wild- und Viehdiebstahlsyndikat wurde in der Gegend von Outjo aufgedeckt. Mindestens drei Gemsböcke wurden laut sozialen Medien kürzlich in der Umgebung geschlachtet und hunderte von Drahtfallen entfernt. Am vergangenen Wochenende wurde auf den Farmen westlich von Outjo bis in die Nähe von Khorixas eine gemeinsame Aktion seitens der namibischen Polizei, den Farmern der Umgebung sowie der Nyime-Anti-Wilderei-Einheit gegen die Wilderei vorgenommen.

Monday, 16 May 2022
2022. Let's all join poaching fight.

Revelations by Centre for Environment Justice that there are between 4,000 and 6,000 active poachers in Kafue National Park alone is very distressing not only to wildlife defenders but all Zambians. What is so heart-breaking is the fact that wildlife poaching is not a new phenomenon in Zambia. It dates back to the 1950s, from which time to date over 90 percent of the country's elephants have been killed. Estimates by experts indicate that in the 1980s, elephant numbers dropped from a quarter of a million to just 18,000.

Wednesday, 11 May 2022
Nyanhongo L 2022. 16-year-old boy arrested for poaching, caught with four impala, lion and Zebra meat.

A 16-year old Beitbridge boy has been arrested and is due to appear in court after he was caught in possession of snares and game meat. The boy was arrested together with one Freeman Moyo (38), and the two are being charged for contravening section 5 of Trapping of Animals Control Act.

Sunday, 8 May 2022
Nxumalo S 2022. Six alleged poachers arrested in a Howick Farm in KZN.

Magma Security and Investigations said while their officers were patrolling in the Karkloof area, a suspicious vehicle was observed on a client’s property just after 2am, on Sunday morning. It said that upon stopping the vehicle, the officers found six occupants with six dogs. "They had poached and killed two warthogs and six porcupines. Knives were found in their possession. Suspects were handed over to Howick SAPS," said Magma Magma Security and Investigations.

Wednesday, 29 September 2021
2021. Wilderer flüchten ohne Beute.

Die Nyime-Anti-Wilderei-Einheit konnte zu Beginn der Wochen einen weiteren Erfolg vermerken. Die Einheit bemerkte drei Verdächtige, die mit ihren Eseln unbefugt auf einer Farm in der Nähe von Gobabis eingedrungen sind. "Nachdem wir sie verfolgt hatten, zog einer der Verdächtigen ein Panga, woraufhin wir einen Warnschuss abgaben", so die Einheit auf sozialen Medien. Die Verdächtigen liefen daraufhin weg und ließen ihre Esel zurück, welche mit frischem Eland-Fleisch bepackt waren. Die Verdächtigen sind in der Gegend bekannt und weitere Ermittlungen werden eingeleitet. 

Saturday, 18 September 2021
Mangat R 2021. Airlines and social media not doing enough to stop illegal wildlife trade.

Buyers are being offered more than 200 species of animals threatened with extinction or declining population on social media platforms by illegal wildlife traders. The animals are then transported by air out of Africa and in some instance, by boat.

Saturday, 4 September 2021
2021. Malawi court set to sentence Chinese member in notorious wildlife criminal syndicate.

The Chief Resident Magistrate Court in Lilongwe has set 27 September, 2021, as the day for delivering judgement against a Chinese national, Yunhua Lin, who is answering charges of money laundering and rhino horn trafficking. Lin came to Malawi as an investor like many do but without proper screening and vetting, the country let in a criminal who is destroying our current and future economy. Lin is a member of one of Southern Africa’s most prolific wildlife trafficking syndicates, which has been operating out of Malawi for at least a decade.

Wednesday, 1 September 2021
2021. Kenya praises fight against poaching after animal census shows improvement.

Kenyan authorities have welcomed the progress made in the fight against poaching, after the publication Monday night of the first animal census conducted in the country, which should serve as a basis for improving environmental conservation. According to the data, Kenya has 36,280 elephants, among other things, a population that is up 21 percent from 2014, when poaching peaked.

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