This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:
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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The consequences for local ecosystems and communities are serious, [including the] deterioration of natural capital, social stability and cohesion; extinction of animal species; and erosion of sustainable economic development. South Africa is home to the world's largest rhino population and is a key source for the illicit supply chain. In the first six months of this year, 231 rhinos were killed in South African game reserves. Of these, 143 were in KwaZulu-Natal.
Poaching in the Kruger National Park has seen a massive decrease in recent years attributed to the introduction of free-running hounds. The dogs were introduced almost eight years ago to arguably South Africa's number one visited national park to curb mostly the poaching of rhinos for their horns.
Vietnamese court sentences 36-year-old man to 12 years in prison for drug trafficking rhino horns in Angola.
A former field ranger, tasked with protecting wildlife, has been sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment for killing a rhino in the Nwanetsi section of the Kruger National Park in 2020. Eckson Musa Matumbu was sentenced at the Skukuza Regional Court on Friday. According to the South African National Parks (SANParks), Matumbu was arrested in February 2020 for killing a rhino with an official firearm issued to him and using non-issued ammunition. He was initially granted bail, which was later cancelled; the case was remanded to October 2023 for conviction and…
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SA_2023_11_Former Kruger National Park field ranger sentenced to 10 years for rhino killing_News24.pdf | 158.94 KB |
Alert farmworkers at Farm Eden, one of the most remote but iconic farms in the Otjozondjupa Region, prevented rhino poaching in the area, subsequently leading to the arrest of three suspected poachers.
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NAM_2023_11_Farmworkers halt rhino poaching in Otjozondjupa_ Informante.pdf | 57.36 KB |
Joseph Nyalungu, popularly known as Big Joe, is accused of involvement in rhino poaching in Mpumalanga and Limpopo. The charges against him include possession of rhino horns, poaching, and money laundering.
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SA_2023_11_Bail application of alleged Limpopo rhino poaching kingpin postponed_SABC News.pdf | 332.53 KB |
Cameroon ranked seventh out of 29 African nations in terms of being a source or transit point for illegal wildlife trafficking (IWT) during the decade spanning from 2009 to 2019, according to a new report. This is despite the measures taken by the law enforcement to curb the menace as increased involvement from the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF), CITES authorities and various other stakeholders, according to the report titled Analysis of Wildlife Court Cases in Cameroon: Jan 2010-Dec 2022. The most frequently…
The High Court in Malawi has rejected Chinese wildlife trafficking convict Lin Yun Hua's appeal against his 14- year sentence which was handed to him by Lilongwe Magistrate Court. Lin appealed against the conviction and the sentence but the High Court has rejected the appeal because it was filed outside the required period. Lin received 14 years in 2021 for dealing in rhino horn, alongside 14 years for possession of rhino horn and six years for money laundering.
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MAL_2023_11_Malawi High Court rejects Chinese convicts appeal_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 271.42 KB |
Twee Namibiese mans wat na bewering 'n renoster probeer stroop het, is verlede Woensdag met 'n jaggeweer en ammunisie in hegtenis geneem. Volgens die weeklikse wildmisdaadverslag van die Namibiese polisie se eenheid vir beskermde hulpbronne en die ministerie van die omgewing, bosbou en toerisme se intelligensie- en ondersoekeenheid, is mnre. Mbakondja Tjatindi en Matias Kaurikengererua by Oshakati in hegtenis geneem.
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NAM_2020-03_Twee mans probeer glo renoster stroop_Republikein.pdf | 216.88 KB |
NAM_2020-03_Two men are apparently tried to poach rhino_Republikein.pdf | 217.27 KB |
Twee verdagtes wat glo 'n renoster in die Etosha Nasionale Park gestroop het, is vasgetrek. Die woordvoerder van die ministerie van die omgewing, bosbou en toerisme, mnr. Romeo Muyunda, het vanoggend aan Republikein bevestig dat twee vermeende renosterstropers die naweek in hegtenis geneem is.
Two suspects who allegedly poached a rhino in Etosha National Park were arrested. The spokesman for the Ministry of the Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Mr. Romeo Muyunda confirmed to Republikein this morning that two suspected rhino poachers were arrested over the…
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NAM_2020-03_Twee vermeende renosterstropers vas_Republikein.pdf | 231.63 KB |
NAM_2020-03_Two suspected rhino poachers-Republikein_Eng.pdf | 232.2 KB |
Namibia has lost nine rhinos and one elephant to poaching since the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism said Monday. Ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said poaching took place inside private owned farms and the country's national parks, with the latest incident taking place last Friday when one elephant was poached. Two suspects have since been arrested.
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NAM_2020-03_Namibia loses 9 rhinos 1 elephant to poaching since January_China Org.pdf | 138.95 KB |
The Namibia Police Force arrested and charged 16 suspects on charges of rhino or elephant poaching and conspiracy of elephant poaching last week. Police also confiscated five firearms, rounds of ammunitions and a motor vehicle. Among other items which were recovered during the anti-poaching operation are; varied wild life products such as four elephant tusks, a pangolin skin , two duiker carcasses, one waterbuck carcass and one warthog carcass.
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NAM_2020-03_Sixteen arrested for poaching_New Era.pdf | 193.82 KB |
On the flip side, among other features is the black rhino which faces extinction. Namibia is one of the vestiges of the black rhino, one of the world's most endangered animal species.
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NAM_2020-03_Namibia launches new N30 note_The Namibian.pdf | 853.38 KB |
Die Population des Spitzmaulnashorns in Afrika hat sich nach den dramatischen Einbrüchen seit den 70er Ja Zahl der Tiere in der Wildnis von geschätzten 4845 auf 5630 Exemplare, wie die Weltnaturschutzunion (IUCN) am Donner (Diceros bicornis) vom Aussterben bedroht.
Three suspected rhino poachers who allegedly strayed into Bubye Conservancy in Mazunga area in Beitbridge district, where they intended to poison wildlife were on Thursday denied bail by the High Court.
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ZIM_2020-03_Three suspected rhino poachers found with pesticide denied bail_The Chronicle.pdf | 284.18 KB |
The term 'poacher' is often used for anyone involved in wildlife crime. In reality, wildlife crime functions through a complex web of criminals, where the poachers – the people carrying out the illegal killing of an animal to initiate the trade in its parts – are at the lowest level.
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NAM_03_2020_Rhino poaching and the inside job_The Namibian.pdf | 570.97 KB |
The trial of six men facing rhino-poaching charges continued in the Grahamstown High Court this week. East London residents Francis Chitiyo, Trymore Chauke, Misheck Chauke, Simba Masinge and Nhamo Muyambo, and Abraham Moyane were arrested in July 2018 during Operation Full Moon – the Eastern Cape Rhino Task Team’s code name for its anti-poaching operations. All six have since been in custody. They are accused on four counts.
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SA_2020-03_Poaching trial to resume in May_Grocotts Mail.pdf | 831.45 KB |
Despite significant anti-poaching efforts, the rhino poaching onslaught continues unabated in Botswana with 47 rhinos lost to poachers over the last 12 months. This has devastated Botswana’s rhino populations and significantly set back the work of Rhino Conservation Botswana. For the past two decades we have worked with the Government of Botswana and private sector partners to bring rhinos from high poaching areas in South Africa and Zimbabwe into Botswana’s Okavango Delta.
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BOT_2020-03_Media Release Rhino poaching in Botswana _9 March 2020 final.pdf | 187.03 KB |