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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 - 12 of 12
Wednesday, 27 January 2021
2021. Nigeria Customs intercepts huge haul of pangolin scales, ivory.

Authorities put the value of the seizure at N952million and say the items were headed to Vietnam. Mohammed Abba-Kura, Customs Comptroller, said at a media briefing on Tuesday in Lagos that the items were contained in a one-unit 20-feet container with number CSLU 2362640 heading to Haiphong, Vietnam. He said the items, falsely declared as furniture, comprised 162 sacks of pangolin scales weighing 8,800kg and 57 sacks of mixed endangered species of various sizes such as ivory/animal horns, lion bones and others.

Tuesday, 26 January 2021
Daghar M 2021. Uganda's illegal wildlife traders undeterred by Covid-19 restrictions.

Measures to help curb the spread of Covid-19 in Uganda - such as restrictions on movement - apparently have not deterred the illegal international wildlife trade. The demand for both traditional wildlife products (such as pangolin scales) and newer ones (such as elephant penises) has continued, with numerous arrests made last year. There was an increase in poaching in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda’s top wildlife reserve, with 60 poachers arrested between March and May 2020.

Friday, 22 January 2021
Mukpo A 2021. Nigeria and Congo becoming major hubs for ivory and pangolin smuggling.

Increased political buy-in for law enforcement and interdiction efforts at ports in East Africa have pushed wildlife smuggling westward to Nigeria. Between 1998 and 2014, the top two countries associated with ivory seizures were Tanzania and Kenya. Since 2014, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo have overtaken them. Corruption at the ports, the involvement of influential politicians, and rural poverty make Nigeria an aractive waypoint for smugglers.

Thursday, 14 January 2021
South African Police Service (SAPS) 2021. Man arrested for possession of pangolin skin.

Members of Upington Highway patrol have arrested a male suspect in connection with possession of Endangered Species. Police got information about the suspect yesterday and it was operationalized. The suspect was found at a hiking spot in Upington hitch hiking to Olifantshoek. He was searched and pangolin skin was found in his luggage. It is valued at about R108 750.00, weighing 2,05 kg.

Monday, 30 March 2020
Smit E 2020. 16 arrested for wildlife crimes.

Sixteen suspects have been arrested in recent days in connection with wildlife crimes and six new cases were registered. According to police statistics ten wildlife products were confiscated, and five firearms and one vehicle were seized. The wildlife products included four pieces of elephant ivory, a pangolin skin, two duiker carcasses, an impala carcass and a warthog carcass. On 5 March two Zambians, an Angolan and a Namibian were arrested at Kongola for illegally hunting protected game.

Thursday, 26 March 2020
Denker H 2020. Namibia's Pangolins – What do we Actually Know?.

Kelsey Prediger walks into the bush in the darkness of early evening. She is armed with only a small torch, telemetry equipment, a mobile phone and a belt pouch with small research tools. Although the grass is hip high in places, Kelsey appears unfazed by the possibility of encountering a snake, a leopard or another potentially dangerous creature.

Wednesday, 25 March 2020
2020. 16 Festnahmen wegen Wilderei.

Die Behörden haben in den vergangenen Tagen insgesamt 16 Personen wegen Verdachts auf Wilderei verhaftet. Einem aktuellen Bericht des Umweltministeriums zufolge wurden über diesen Zeitraum sechs neue Ermittlungen gestartet und allein in der vergangenen Woche unter anderem vier Elefantenstoßzähne und ein Schuppentier-Panzer sichergestellt. Das Elfenbein sei bei einem Einsatz am Dienstag vergangener Woche in Nkurenkuru konfisziert worden.

Thursday, 19 March 2020
Smit E 2020. Namibian caught with 611 pangolin scales.

A Namibian man was arrested last week at Rundu for being in possession of 611 pangolin scales, five pieces of skin and one whole pangolin skin. A total of nine suspects were arrested in connection with wildlife crimes last week and three new cases were registered.

Thursday, 19 March 2020
2020. Pangolin-Schuppen sichergestellt.

Die Behörden haben mehrere Wilderer verhaftet. Darunter befinde sich auch ein Mann, bei dem die Beamten hunderte Teile von Schuppentieren gefunden haben. Das geht aus einem gemeinsamen Bericht der beteiligten Einheiten hervor, der zu Beginn der Woche vom Umweltministerium veröffentlicht wurde.

The authorities have arrested several poachers. Among them is a man with whom the officials have found hundreds of pangolins. This emerges from a joint report by the units involved, which was published by the Ministry of the Environment earlier this week.

Tuesday, 17 March 2020
2020. Man glo met sowat 600 ietermagôskubbe vas.

'n Namibiese man, mnr. Hega Nekare, is verlede Dinsdag op Rundu glo met verskeie ietermagôprodukte in hegtenis geneem.

Thursday, 12 March 2020
David M 2020. Man caught with live pangolin.

A man was arrested at Okandjengendi on Monday while trying to sell to undercover police officers a live pangolin.

Wednesday, 11 March 2020
2020. Ietermagô-verkoper trap in polisie-lokval.

‘n 47-jarige man van Onawa in Oshakati se Okandjengedi-informele nedersetting is Maandag in hegtenis geneem toe hy ‘n ietermagô aan ‘n polisie-speurder probeer verkoop het.

A 47-year-old Onawa man in Oshakati's Okandjengedi informal settlement was arrested on Monday when he tried to sell a Pangolin to a police detective.

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