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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 - 16 of 16
Saturday, 24 May 2025
Mensahfio NA 2025. Poaching, bush burning: Mole National Park's 'conservatory' scars.

Bush burning as a means of hunting was historically common in many African societies. However, while modernisation and technological innovation have significantly reduced the practice, it is still carried out in some areas, including conservation centres. One such area is Ghan's Mole National Park (MNP), where some people burn parts of the forests to carry out illegal hunting expeditions, otherwise known as poaching.

Friday, 9 May 2025
2025. Global demand for small wildlife on the increase.

The global demand for small wildlife, including ants, spiders and scorpions, is increasing. Just this week, a group of Belgians and Vietnamese were sentenced for smuggling ants out of Kenya. Dr Caswell Munyai, a myrmecologist from UKZN has more on this.

Thursday, 8 May 2025
2025. 84 Cape vultures rescued from poisoning in the Kruger National Park.

Eighty-four vultures have been rescued by a joint team of SANParks rangers and Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) officials from a devastating poisoning in the Kruger National Park. The incident in the Mahlangeni Section of the Park was detected by the EWT's pioneering wildlife poisoning surveillance and detection system, which triggered an alert at 06:05 on 6 May 2025, flagging suspicious activity in a remote section of the park. Within hours, a joint SANParks and EWT team mobilised, arriving on site by 08:20.

Wednesday, 7 May 2025
Chibamu A 2025. Conservation under threat as Mines Ministry continues to entertain applications to mine in protected areas - Zim Parks.

Conservation is under serious threat from mining activities in protected areas countrywide, putting wild animals at risk of extinction, a Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) official has said. Giving oral evidence to the Tourism and Hospitality Industry Parliamentary Portfolio Committee this Monday, ZimParks Corporate Secretary Nyasha Mutyambizi said the Mines ministry continued to accept applications for mining purposes in the restricted areas meant for conservation and tourism.

Wednesday, 7 May 2025
Wandera A, Muia W 2025. Gang who smuggled thousands of queen ants sentenced in Kenya.

A Kenyan court has sentenced four men to one year in prison or pay a fine of $7,700 (£5,800) for trying to smuggle thousands of live queen ants out of the country. The four suspects - two Belgians, a Vietnamese and a Kenyan - were arrested last month with live ants suspected to have been destined for collectors in Europe and Asia. They had pleaded guilty to the charges, with the Belgians telling the court that they were collecting the highly sought-after ants as a hobby and didn't think it was illegal.

Tuesday, 29 March 2022
Bause T 2022. Draadstrikke aan die toeneem.

Volgens dr. Ulf Tubbesing het sy span in die laaste twee jaar vyf vlakvarke van draadstrikke bevry.

According to dr. Ulf Tubbesing, his team has freed five warthogs from wire traps in the last two years.

Monday, 28 March 2022
Byishimo B 2022. East Africa: Regional prosecutors pledge to crack down on wildlife crimes.

State prosecutors from 11 East African countries have vowed to tighten their cross border cooperation and tackle money launder crimes and other emerging transnational crimes.

Friday, 25 March 2022
Smit E 2022. Corruption reviewed in wildlife court cases.

Corruption is a key enabler of the illegal wildlife trade and its effects can be seen in every stage of this crime chain. This is according to a new report by the wildlife trade monitoring network, TRAFFIC, which said by reviewing past wildlife crime court cases, the relationship between these crimes and corruption can be better understood. It noted that thoroughly investigating corruption in these cases can potentially identify higher-level individuals for investigation, arrest, conviction and appropriate sentencing, disrupting organised criminal groups to a greater extent.

Wednesday, 16 March 2022
Igidi T 2022. Nigeria: Concerns as wildlife trafficking continues in Nigeria.

Amidst the growing devastating impact of climate change on the Nigerian environment, conservation efforts are being threatened by trafficking of wildlife.

Monday, 14 March 2022
2022. Mozambique: Over 230 poachers arrested in Zinave National Park in five years - Lusa.

Over 230 poachers were arrested, and over 300 firearms seized, between 2016 and 2021, in the Zinave National Park in Mozambique, the manager of the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) said on Monday.

Thursday, 10 March 2022
Tsiko S 2022. Step up fight against wildlife crime.

There is an urgent need to step up the fight against wildlife crime and human-induced reduction of species, which have wide-ranging economic, environmental and social impacts in the country, Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndhlovu says.

Friday, 4 March 2022
Tabane T 2022. Fears about increase in game poaching in Botswana.

There are concerns that cases of wildlife poaching in Botswana could increase, following the government’s decision to allow game farming on land that has no security or fencing to control the movement of wild animals.

Friday, 4 March 2022
Muromo L 2022. Need for collaborative efforts in combating illicit wildlife trade: Activists.

The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (Zela) has called on key stakeholders, including the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), to collaborate in combating illegal trade and smuggling of wildlife products. The call coincided with the World Wildlife Day commemorations held yesterday. Wildlife trafficking in Africa is mainly rife in politically unstable countries and where there is widespread breakdown of law and order.

Friday, 4 March 2022
Ekott I 2022. Nigeria: Inside Nigerias shocking wildlife crimes and how culprits escape justice.

Our analysis of wildlife crimes data, supported by numerous interviews, finds evidence of systematic failure by Nigerian law enforcement and the judicial system to hold wildlife poachers and traffickers accountable.

Friday, 4 March 2022
2022. Citizens encouraged to work with government to reverse the current trends of poaching.

Citizens have been urged to join hands with the government to reverse the current trends of poaching, an official said as the country joined the rest of the world in celebrating World Wildlife Life Day on Thursday. The theme for commemorating World Wildlife Day 22 is which seeks to draw attention to the conservation status of some of the critically endangered species of fauna and flora.

Friday, 4 March 2022
2022. Ein Appell gegen Wilderei.

Gestern war der "Tag des Artenschutzes", dessen Feierlichkeiten sich auch das namibische Ministerium für Umwelt, Forstwirtschaft und Tourismus anschloss. Der Tag wurde 2013 von der UN Generalversammlung festgelegt und soll auf die wilden Tiere und Pflanzen der ganzen Welt aufmerksam machen. Das Motto des diesjährigen "Tag des Artenschutzes" lautet: "Wiederherstellung von Schlüsselarten für die Restaurierung von Ökosystemen".

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