Search results

A court in Vietnam on Tuesday sentenced a man to 13 years in prison for trafficking nearly 10 tons of endangered animal parts from Africa, including ivory and rhino horns, police said. The court in the central coastal city of Danang found Nguyen Duc Tai, 33, guilty of transporting elephant tusks, ivory, pangolin scales and lion bones from Africa to Vietnam in 2021, the police-run ministry of public security said. Trade in ivory is illegal in Vietnam but wildlife trafficking remains widespread.

Der Save The Rhino Trust (SRT) hat im vergangenen Jahr im Auftrag des Ministeriums für Umwelt, Forstwirtschaft und Tourismus (MEFT) seine Arbeit im Nyae Nyae-Schutzgebiet im Nordosten des Landes aufgenommen. Das Gebiet grenzt an den Khaudum-Nationalpark, in dem das MEFT nun mit Unterstützung des SRT hofft, den Schutz der Spitzmaulnashörner verbessern zu können. Für den SRT ist es eine positive Entwicklung: "Die Anfrage des MEFT, unser Rhino Rangers Programm zu verdoppeln, ist eine Anerkennung für den Erfolg des SRT in der Kunene-Region in den letzten vier Jahrzehnten.

Botswana revealed on Monday that it suffered a huge spike in rhino poaching during five years through 2022, translating to about a third of its population of the endangered species. In all, 138 rhinos were slaughtered from 2018 to last year, Tourism minister Philda Kereng told parliament. This compares to two rhinos poached in the preceding five years from 2012 to 2017, according to official figures. Statistics that Kereng presented to parliament showed killings suddenly rose to seven in 2018, before spiking to 30 the following year.

Botswana revealed on Monday that it suffered a huge spike in rhino poaching during five years through 2022, translating to about a third of its population of the endangered species. In all, 138 rhinos were slaughtered from 2018 to last year, Tourism minister Philda Kereng told parliament. This compares to two rhinos poached in the preceding five years from 2012 to 2017, according to official figures. Statistics that Kereng presented to parliament showed killings suddenly rose to seven in 2018, before spiking to 30 the following year.

Transparency and regular communication about rhino numbers and rhino poaching are vital to understand the threat to our rhinos and finding the best ways to conserve them. The most recent rhino population numbers for Africa to the end of 2021, as released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) last year, showed that white rhino numbers had continued to decline at around 3.1% per year and numbered just below 16 000 animals.

Maputo, 16 Feb (AIM) - Mozambique's Central Office for the Fight against Organised and Transnational Crime (GCCCOT) has filed charges against two poachers, currently being held in preventive detention. According to a GCCCOT press release, the two men (who were not named) were caught on 27 July last year in possession of four rhinoceros horns with an estimated value on the black market of 243,600 US dollars.

A group of private game farmers, Help our Rhino Now Namibia (HoRN.nam), is offering a reward of N$100 000 for information leading to the arrest of poachers who shot a rhino at a farm near Windhoek. HoRN.nam said in a media statement on Wednesday that rhino poaching has escalated in Namibia over the past 18 months. The organisation says this poses a real and critical threat to the well-being and future survival of Namibian rhino populations.

A 33-year-old man has been jailed for five years after being caught transporting rhino horns to Johannesburg on June 22 last year.

Zimbabweans have been implicated as chief architects of a recent spike in rhino poaching in South Africa. The South African Department of Correctional Services identified the Zimbabwean poachers as Nhamo Muyambo, Francis Chitho, Trymore Chauke, Lubuyo September, Abraham Moyane, Simba Masinge and Bennet Kwamle. International Rhino Foundation (IRF) communications director Christopher Whitlatch said: "Zimbabwean rhino poachers have been involved in major illegal activities in South Africa.

The parks and reserves in Pretoria did not lose a single rhino in 2022, said Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy.

Two hundred kilogrammes of shark fin were seized at Maputo International Airport two weeks ago, but the case is still under investigation and the Director general of Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC), Celmira da Silva said he could not provide further details on the subject. Integrity Magazine tried to question who owned the cargo as well as its origin and final destination, but without success.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) says the transnational organised crime networks targeting large conservation areas across Southern Africa remain a serious concern. The WWF was reacting to the 2022 rhino poaching statistics which saw a 40% decline compared to 2021 in the Kruger Park and other national parks across the country.

The Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife conservation agency has, up till now, opted to not dehorn its rhinos to protect them from poachers. But that could change soon, following another year of relentless killings in which the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park emerged as the current rhino poaching hotspot, globally. The latest poaching figures released by national Environment Minister Barbara Creecy show that 244 rhinos were killed by horn poachers in KwaZulu-Natal in 2022 - the vast majority of them in the HIP.

The bad news is that poaching shifted to KwaZulu-Natal, where 244 animals were killed last year - 228 of them in provincial parks and 16 on private reserves. "The steady decline in rhino poaching in national parks is related to the relentless war that has been waged by our anti-poaching machinery, as well as a comprehensive dehorning programme," said Creecy. While the brave men and women in the front line in our anti-poaching units put their lives on the line to tackle the poachers, little is being done, seemingly, to bring the kingpins to book.

A 47-year-old accused will appear in the Kabokweni Magistrate Court on Tuesday, 7 February 2023, after his DNA was linked to rhino horns found during a search and seizure operation.

Botswana's government has presented to the ongoing CITES CoP-19 in Panama a detailed document on the country's efforts to contain rhino poaching which increased at least 100 fold between 2018 and 2020. The country recorded two rhino poaching incidents in the five years between 2012 and 2017 with zero incidents reported in 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2017.

A total of 87 rhinos were poached last year, of which 45 were killed in the Etosha National Park. This is according to new statistics released by the environment and tourism ministry, which show that last year, 61 black rhinos and 26 white rhinos were killed. In 2022, poaching cases included 15 rhinos poached on custodianship farms and another 25 white rhinos on private farms. Namibia recorded 45 rhinos poached in 2021, 43 in 2020, 61 in 2019, 84 in 2018 and 55 in 2017. So far this year, one rhino has been poached. Meanwhile, four elephants were killed last year.

Mpumalanga provincial head of the Hawks, Major General Nico Gerber has welcomed the arrest of the 14th accused person, 24-year-old Nkateko Maluleke who was wanted in a case of money laundering, where field rangers allegedly provided tactical information to rhino poachers in the Kruger National Park.

A total of 87 rhinos were poached last year, of which 45 were killed in the Etosha National Park. This is according to new statistics released by the environment and tourism ministry, which show that last year, 61 black rhinos and 26 white rhinos were killed. In 2022, poaching cases included 15 rhinos poached on custodianship farms and another 25 white rhinos on private farms. Namibia recorded 45 rhinos poached in 2021, 43 in 2020, 61 in 2019, 84 in 2018 and 55 in 2017. So far this year, one rhino has been poached. Meanwhile, four elephants were killed last year.

Relentless pressure forces rhino poachers to abandon national parks in 2022, says Creecy South Africa's relentless fight against rhino poaching in the Kruger Park and other national parks saw a decline in poaching numbers across the country. In 2022, 124 rhino were killed in the Kruger National Park.

The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DFFE) has reported that relentless pressure has forced rhino poachers to abandon parks in 2022.

The police in the Eastern Cape are searching for poachers who shot, killed, and dehorned two rhinos on a safari farm in Paterson on Wednesday evening, 1 February.

Two rhinos were brutally shot and killed on a safari farm in Paterson late in the evening on Wednesday, earlier this week in the Sarah Baartman District. The poachers had managed to find a way into the farm before stalking, shooting and killing the adult rhinos, thereafter de-horning both of them. A police report told that the two rhinos, one male and the other female, were last spotted during an afternoon game drive. They were only found dead by game rangers the following afternoon while more tourists came through on another game drive.

Two rhinos that survived a poaching attack at Schotia Safaris Private Game Reserve, near Nanaga, nearly 10 years ago were killed by poachers on Thursday. After disabling the pair of male and female white rhinos in the attack, the poachers hacked off their horns with pangas before making their escape.

Rhinos may look formidable, but their species have declined due to continuous poaching in Nambia and South Africa. Rhinos, mainly the black rhinos, have dealt with population declines due to threats of illegal trade, poaching, habitat loss and infrastructure development. The population of rhinos is critically endangered. Without immediate actions and protection efforts, it would lead to sudden extinction. The economic and political issues in places where Rhinos thrive make it more difficult for conservation efforts.

A Mozambican man, convicted for poaching, will spend the next 18 years in prison. Santos Baloyi, 31, was arrested after a rhino was killed at Kruger National Park in September. He was also convicted on charges of trespassing, contravention of the Immigration Act, possession of a dangerous weapon.

The slaughter of Namibia’s rhino continues, with yet another being poached - this time on a privately owned game farm in the Otjozondjupa Region. This was the third white rhino that has been poached on Farm Okamahoro since the middle of last month. The farm is situated approximately 35km west of Okahandja. Okamahoro Farm no. 20 is privately owned and farms with a variety of game, including rhinos. According to Otjozondjupa police spokesperson Warrant Officer, Maureen Mbeha, a female rhino carcass was discovered last Thursday.

The arrest of a Chinese national suspected of co-ordinating rhino horn smuggling from Namibia is among the major successes that has been achieved by an international law-enforcement operation combating wildlife crime. The operation - codenamed ‘Operation COBRA III’ - was conducted during May and involved a series of raids conducted across Asia, Africa and Europe, resulting in more than 300 arrests of suspects, including kingpins, and over 600 seizures of assorted wildlife contraband. There have also been more tip-offs leading to the unearthing of criminal networks and their…

Yet another black rhino was poached in the Omatendeka Conservancy in Southern Kunene over the weekend, bringing the total number of poached rhinos in the country to 69 this year. The rhino is the fifth to be poached in the same area within a couple of months. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism confirmed yesterday that five people were arrested in connection with the incident after they were discovered with two rhino horns in their possession.

In a move to control rhino poaching, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism started constructing a proper boundary fence to protect animals in the Etosha National Park. The fencing is expected to cost an estimated N$700 000 per kilometre. Etosha measures 824 kilometres, and the ministry would need about N$576 million to fence it all. The ministry, however, does not have enough funds for the project and has requested an additional N$167 million during this financial year. It was allocated about N$643 million in the 2015/2016 national budget.

Five Namibian men were arrested on Saturday afternoon in the Kunene Region after they were found with a freshly sawn off black rhinoceros horn and a rifle, allegedly used to shoot the rhino. The five appeared before Magistrate Leena Iyambo at Opuwo on Monday afternoon.

The Chinese Embassy in Windhoek, through its office of the director of political affairs, Wang Xuguang (Tony), responded to a request by Nampa on the Embassy's stance after another Chinese national appeared in court for alleged rhinoceros horn smuggling.

The Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) says it has ensured that none of its staff are carrying personal firearms at its establishments inside Namibia’s national parks. This follows a recent directive by Environment and Tourism Minister, Pohamba Shifeta, that no ministry or NWR employee should keep personal firearms within national parks. NWR said in a statement it has made an effort to ensure that this directive is enforced at all its establishments inside national parks.

Four Chinese suspects, who were arrested in connection with allegedly trying to smuggle 14 rhino horns out of the Namibia, will now be appearing together in the Windhoek Regional Court in Katutura at the end of the month. This follows a decision by the Office of the Prosecutor-General that 40-year-old Wang Huii, who was arrested last month at the Windhoek Country Club, should appear together with three other Chinese suspects who were arrested last year.

A Chinese, who police believe to be the 'kingpin' in one of Namibia's biggest rhino horn smuggling cases, was denied bail by the Windhoek Magistrate's Court in Katutura yesterday. Wang Hui (40), who was remanded in custody at the Windhoek Correctional Facility, had his case transferred to the Regional Court where he is expected to appear on 25 June.

The Opuwo Magistrate’s Court has applied for a warrant of arrest for a Chinese national, who was arrested for dealing in illegal rhino horns last year. The warrant will be executed it if he fails to appear before the court within the next two weeks. Dejin Xu, who was allegedly found with two rhino horns during a sting operation in February last year, was due to appear in the Opuwo Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday for plea and trial. Prosecutor Obert Tavengwa Masendeke said the court was yesterday presented with a doctor’s letter stating that he is unable to attend the proceedings…

Ninety-five black rhinos and eight white rhinos have been poached in Namibia since 2005, the ministry of environment and tourism revealed yesterday. Minister of environment Pohamba Shifeta said this, when he revealed the outcome of tests conducted on the latest rhino and elephant carcasses discovered since 2014. 
Shifeta said over the last 10 years, 294 black rhinos died of natural causes, while 95 others were poached and seven others were killed for trophy hunting.