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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 - 11 of 11
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.

Thursday, 28 July 2022
2022. Snare kills mother zebra and foal at Bisley Nature Reserve.

A zebra and its foal have been found dead, caught in the grip of a snare in the Bisley Nature Reserve.

Tuesday, 26 July 2022
Reiter C 2022. Wilderei nimmt kein Ende.

Am gestrigen Montag versammelten sich Farmer vor dem Magistratsgericht von Karibib, um zu verhindern, dass mutmaßliche Wilderer auf Kaution freigelassen werden. Dies geschah, nachdem in der Woche zwischen Vollmond und dem 21. Juli in der Gegend von Otjiwarongo, Karibib und Omaruru Rinder im Wert von 135 000 N$, Gemsböcke im Wert von 60 000 N$ und Zebras im Wert von 9 000 N$ gestohlen worden waren. Darüber hinaus mussten die Farmer rund 22 000 N$ für Treibstoff, Wachen und Anti-Wilderer-Einheiten bezahlen.

Tuesday, 26 July 2022
Hattingh E 2022. Honderde duisende se vee, wild gestroop.

Boere het gister by die landdroshof op Karibib saamgekom om te probeer verhoed dat borgtog aan vermeende vee- en wildstropers toegestaan word. Dit volg nadat daar in die week tussen volmaan en 21 Julie beeste ter waarde van N$135 000, gemsbokke van N$60 000 en sebras van N$9 000 in die omgewing van Otjiwarongo, Karibib en Omaruru gesteel is. 

Friday, 22 July 2022
Twahirwa A 2022. East African countries seek cross-border cooperation to combat wildlife trafficking.

Kigali: For many years, East African countries were considered wildlife trafficking hotspots. Now conservation organisations have started to mobilise all stakeholders to combat the illegal trade that targets animals – some to the edge of extinction.

Monday, 18 July 2022
Pillay Y 2022. Three suspects arrested for poaching at Tala Game Reserve.

Three suspects were arrested for poaching at Tala Game Reserve, outside Pietermaritzburg, after police and a private security company responded to the scene. The three suspects were found with a waterbuck carcass on Saturday.

Wednesday, 6 July 2022
Nakale A 2022. Poaching rife around farm Uitkoms.

Uitkoms - As the population of Farm Uitkoms grows, crimes and social ills such as poaching, stock theft and drug and alcohol abuse are skyrocketing. Farm Uitkoms, housing mainly marginalised Namibians some 160km north-east of Okahandja, is seen as the epitome of self-sustainability in terms of government resettlement efforts. In 2008, retired veteran politician Dr Libertina Amathila, who at the time held the portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister, vigorously spearheaded a campaign that saw the marginalised San community resettled at this farm.

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