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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 - 8 of 8
Wednesday, 28 August 2024
Vatileni E 2024. Special environmental courts yield N$4,9 million .

Namibia's special environmental court operations have resulted in fines worth N$4,9 million in one year. These special courts were conducted at Katima Mulilo, Rundu, Okahao, Outapi and in Windhoek for 42 days between April 2022 and March 2023. Prosecutor general Martha Imalwa revealed this at the official opening of the Environmental Crimes Court at Otjiwarongo on Monday. "We see the total of cases amounted to 162 on the court rolls from April 2022 to March 2023.

Sunday, 25 August 2024
Vatileni E 2024. 400 timber planks confiscated in Kavango West.

Approximately 400 timber planks were confiscated in the Kavango West region this month. This is according to Kavango West police regional commander Julia Sakuwa-Neo, speaking at a media briefing at Nkurenkuru yesterday. "During August, close to 400 timber planks were intercepted and confiscated after establishing that no permits or authorisation was granted," Sakuwa-Neo said. The timber was confiscated during police operations conducted in a span of one week, she added.

Monday, 19 August 2024
Haidula T 2024. Authorities vow tough action against poachers.

Oshikoto police regional commander Commissioner Teopolina Kalompo-Nashikaku has issued a stern warning to poachers, saying they risk their lives by engaging with armed anti-poaching units. Without mincing her words, she warned that the authorities are committed to protecting the country's fauna and flora and said poachers risk their own lives if they shoot at security personnel deployed to safeguard wildlife species.

Monday, 16 October 2023
2023. Delta the dog sniffs out succulent poaching.

The Endangered Wildlife Trust's (EWT) plant detection dog, which is trained to detect succulent plants, displayed his training during a police action. Delta the dog assisted in Springbok where two males were arrested for illegal possession of 1 760 endangered plants.

Sunday, 15 October 2023
2023. Trained plant detection dog utilized to curb succulent poaching yields success.

The SAPS plant detection dog "Delta" trained to detect succulent plants displayed his training during a police action in Springbok where two males were arrested for illegal possession of 1760 endangered plants. A multi-disciplinary operation involving the Springbok Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit (STESU), Springbok Public Order Policing (POP) and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (Shadi Henrico, Esther Matthew and K9-Delta) was held on Friday, 13 October 2023 at approximately midnight.

Friday, 6 October 2023
Walsh H 2023. Dogs quickly sniff out succulent thugs.

Global demand for collectible succulents has increased drastically over the past few years. This means that thousands of endangered plant species are illegally removed from their natural habitat by poachers and sold to meet the insatiable demand for them. The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) has now started a project to train three dogs and use their strong sense of smell to sniff out the succulent poachers.

Friday, 6 October 2023
Duba S 2023. Two nabbed in Northern Cape for possession of protected plants.

The Springbok SAPS Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit (STESU) arrested two men who were driving a vehicle loaded with bags of Conophytum bilobum plants on the R382 road between Steinkopf and Port Nolloth.

Sunday, 1 October 2023
Moyo N 2023. MP bemoans Nkayi timber 'looting'.

The Nkayi Rural District Council has been urged to tighten its monitoring systems to stop the illegal harvesting of timber by companies as the natural resource is not benefiting local communities. Nkayi South Member of Parliament Jabulani Hadebe said there were no mechanisms in place to protect natural resources in the Matabeleland North district.

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