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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 - 9 of 9
Friday, 24 September 2021
Smit E 2021. Three arrested for wildlife crimes.

In a separate case, another Namibian national Ignasius Mbaraka was arrested at Outjo on 17 September, also in connection with an old case for conspiring to hunt a rhino. The case dates back to June when a rhino carcass and a vehicle were confiscated. He has been charged with the illegal hunting of specially protected game and for conspiring to hunt specially protected game. He is also a Namibian. Meanwhile, Namibian Alberto Johannes Joel was arrested on 12 September in Otavi for being in the possession of a pangolin. The case was not reported last week.

Thursday, 23 September 2021
Ndeyanale E 2021. Three arrested for wildlife crime.

Three men have been arrested in connection with wildlife crime, Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said in a weekly wildlife crime report on Wednesday. According to the report, Alberto Johannes Joel was arrested on 12 September this year at Otavi in the Otjozondjupa region. He was reportedly found in possession of a live pangolin. Another suspect, Ignasius Mbaraka Mutunda, was arrested in connection with a June 2020 case when he was allegedly found in possession of a rhino carcass. He was arrested on Friday at Outjo in the Kunene region.

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.

Thursday, 21 May 2020
2020. Extension granted for submissions on work relevant to the panel reviewing lion, rhino, elephant and leopard management practices (South Africa).

An extension of two weeks has been granted to the public to make submissions on the work of the high-level panel established to review policies, legislation and related practices on the management, breeding, hunting, trade and handling of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros.

Monday, 18 May 2020
Dalton J 2020. South Africa traffics thousands of endangered wild animals to China in 'corrupt and growing' trade, investigation finds.

South African traders with China are illegally selling thousands of wild animals threatened with extinction and endangered, under the guise of legal exports, according to an investigation. Monkeys have been stolen from the wild, and together with cheetahs, tigers, rhinos, lions and meerkats, they have been trafficked to circuses, theme parks, laboratories, zoos and "safari parks", researchers found.

Friday, 15 May 2020
Mmeso P 2020. Poachers target Botswana lions.

The escalating killing of rhinos in the Okavango Delta which has forced government to invest resources to protect them has exposed lions to danger as they have become a target for poachers. 

Thursday, 7 May 2020
Pinnock D 2020. How the Coronavirus changes poaching strategies.

Wild animals are back. Kangaroos bounding through the streets of Melbourne, elephant herds passing through Indian villages, jackals in Johannesburg, leopards in Mumbai, wild boar in Bergamo and Verreaux eagles catching thermals above a silent Cape Town. And of course, inevitable cartoons of humans in surgical masks staring forlornly at animals playing on the sidewalk. Is lockdown good news for creatures - or for poachers?

Wednesday, 6 May 2020
2020. Suspect in Klerksdorp arrested for possession of lion skins.

A 23-year-old man has been arrested by the Hawks in Hartbeesfontein, near Klerksdorp in South Africa, in possession of lion skins, that could have come from the lion-breeding industry, and various drugs.

Sunday, 3 May 2020
Begg A 2020. Barbara Creecy’s wildlife panel is trying to reinvent the wheel.

South Africa’s drive to use wild animals as commercial trade goods has been ratcheted up a notch with the appointment of a high-level panel to review the policies, legislation and practices of breeding, hunting and trading of elephants, lions, leopards and rhinos. The panel’s terms of reference and the people appointed by Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy make it extremely unlikely to support wildlife welfare and conservation. The appointment of the panel follows the almost surreptitious listing late last year of 32 wild animals under the…

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