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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 - 24 of 24
Wednesday, 27 December 2023
Haripersad D 2023. US rhino trade activist arrested for possession of horns without documentation after 16-hour raid.

The Texan faces accusations of violating South African law after several carcasses were found that had no paperwork. A controversial figure in the rhino horn trade debate was arrested last week after more than 20 rhino carcasses were found at his game farm in Limpopo. The arrest of Derek Lewitton was made by the Hawk, after they investigated his Harmony game farm for more than 16 hours. During the searches, members of the Hawks discovered multiple rhino carcasses missing their horns.

Sunday, 24 December 2023
2023. Heroic arrest at KZN game reserve: Rhino poacher caught in the act after killing White Rhino, injuring ranger.

A rhino poacher who was in the process of sawing o the horn of a White Rhino at the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (HiP) in KwaZulu-Natal has been arrested just moments after he shot the majestic beast. During the arrest, the HiP Park Manager, Amos Khetha Tembe was injured and was rushed to hospital. The rhino also succumbed to its injuries from the bullets pumped into it by the poacher.

Thursday, 21 December 2023
Smit E 2023. Rhino poaching decreased by half.

Environment ministry executive director Teofilus Nghitila says 48 rhinos have been poached so far this year. The figure shows a decrease from the 92 animals poached last year. Meanwhile, eight elephants were poached this year - compared to four last year - but this still much better than the previous years' figures, which reached 27 in 2018. The ministry – in collaboration with various law enforcement agencies - set up a response team when poaching skyrocketed in 2013.

Wednesday, 20 December 2023
Walters T 2023. Turning the tide? 'We’ve lost just one rhino in 350 days' - Sabi Sand.

South Africa's most exclusive enclave of private nature reserves reveals their hidden security nerve centre - and shows what they've done to thwart horn poachers for nearly a record year.

Sunday, 17 December 2023
Smit E 2023. Organised crime low in Namibia - Report.

Namibia's average criminal market score was 4.1, an increase of 0.2 since 2021. The country scored 3.5 on human trafficking and 4.5 in arms trafficking. For flora crimes, Namibia scored 6.5, and for fauna crimes - which would include rhino poaching and the linked trade in horns - it scored 4.5.

Saturday, 16 December 2023
Viljoen B 2023. Alleged rhino poaching kingpin Big Joe granted bail.

An alleged rhino poacher who has been in custody for the past six months was granted bail last week.

Monday, 4 December 2023
2023. Namibia sees rhino poaching drop as elephants face increased threat.

Namibia experienced a decrease in rhino poaching this year, registering 42 cases compared to 87 the previous year, but saw an increase in elephant poaching, reaching eight cases, up from four the year before, an official said Monday. In an interview with Xinhua, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said that while rhino poaching numbers have decreased by half, elephant poaching numbers are on the rise. "Poaching is dynamic. While we are winning the fight against the illegal killing of rhinos, elephant poaching is picking up," he said.

Sunday, 26 April 2020
2020. Three suspects arrested for dealing in rhino horns.

An intelligence driven operation has landed three suspects in jail after they were found with six rhino horns.
The operation comprising of the Serious Organised Crime Investigation, Detectives, Crime Intelligence, Tactical Response Team, Tracking Team and the Local Criminal Record Centre ensued after it emerged that three were allegedly dealing in rhino horns.

Friday, 24 April 2020
2020. 'Filthy bloody business:' Poachers kill more animals as coronavirus crushes tourism to Africa.

Ryan Tate is supposed to be in South Africa right now helping to fight off poachers who hack horns off rhinos and kill elephants for their ivory tusks. But since the country announced a national lockdown in March to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Tate is stuck in the U.S. He can't join his team out in South Africa's wilderness and can't meet with private donors in the U.S. for his anti-poaching nonprofit organization, which is seeing donations dry up.

Thursday, 23 April 2020
Smit E 2020. Seven arrested for wildlife crimes.

Five of the suspects were arrested for rhino poaching and/or trafficking cases, while two wildlife products, five firearms and 63 rounds of ammunition were seized during operations.

Tuesday, 21 April 2020
2020. Can tourism reverse the impact of poaching in Zambia and Zimbabwe?.

The effects of poaching and climate change are keenly felt In Zambia and Zimbabwe. This ecological
frontline is manned by innovative, but under-funded conservation units, with tourism supporting the survival
of some of Africa’s rarest species.

Monday, 20 April 2020
Meyer D 2020. Northern Cape authorities apprehend poachers amid lockdown scourge.

A group of four men entered a farm in the Severn area and were caught red-handed trying to poach rhinos for their horns by members of the Kuruman Stock Theft unit. The Tswalu Anti- Poaching unit provided aerial and ground support to the South African Police Service (SAPS) and managed to apprehend the suspects. One of the suspects was killed during the gun-fight, with two others injured. A fourth man was arrested, with a weapons stock confiscated.

Monday, 20 April 2020
2020. Aerial patrols continue to combat poaching in north-west Namibia.

North-West, Namibia, April 2020/  - In an ongoing partnership with Save the Rhino Trust Namibia (SRT) and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET), Wilderness Safaris is proud to report the success of their most recent entirely airborne anti-poaching operation, forming part of a campaign launched last year. Involving two helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft, the aim of the campaign is to monitor, dehorn and protect black rhino in north-west Namibia.

Thursday, 16 April 2020
Smit E 2020. Anti-poaching measures pay off.

For the second week, statistics indicate that only one wildlife crime has been recorded per week. The tightening of anti-poaching security measures during the coronavirus state of emergency is paying off, with only one new wildlife crime case registered last week, while two suspects were arrested.

Thursday, 9 April 2020
Steynberg F 2020. Stryd teen wildmisdaad in 2019 suksesvol.

Die ministeries van die omgewing, bosbou en toerisme en veiligheid en sekuriteit het verlede week hul wildmisdaadverslag van 2019 uitgereik. Verlede jaar is 45 renosters gestroop teenoor 74 in 2018. In 2019 is ook meer verdagtes (112) in verband met renosterverwante misdaad as in 2018 (84) in hegtenis geneem. Die verslag is deur die Blue Rhino-taakspan onder leiding van komm. Barry de Klerk saamgestel. Operasie Blue Rhino is in Julie 2018 van stapel gestuur.

Thursday, 9 April 2020
Muleya T 2020. Poacher shot dead In shootout.

A suspected poacher was killed while his accomplice escaped following a shootout with game rangers on Wednesday at Bubye Valley Conservancy, some 60km west of Beitbridge town. The two men allegedly killed a male lion, before rangers caught up with them while in the process of killing a black rhinoceros.

Wednesday, 8 April 2020
2020. 17 months' jail for man caught at Changi Airport with 11 pieces of rhinoceros horns.

A man was promised 20,000 South African rand (about S$2,000) to unlawfully transport 11 pieces of rhinoceros horns from Johannesburg to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a district court heard on Wednesday (April 8).

Wednesday, 8 April 2020
Shikongo A 2020. Wildlife crime arrests up in 2019.

Arrests for wildlife crime involving high-value species like elephants, rhinos and pangolins, increased by 36% in 2019 compared to the year before.

Monday, 6 April 2020
Steynberg F 2020. Nege renosters tot dusver in 2020 gestroop.

Twee vas met ammunisie. Nege renosters is tot dusver vanjaar gestroop en een olifant is vir sy ivoor afgemaai. Volgens die woordvoerder van die ministerie van die omgewing, bosbou en toerisme, mnr. Romeo Muyunda, is die meerderheid van dié renosters op private plase gestroop. Twee Namibiese mans wat na ­bewering 'n renoster probeer stroop het, is voorverlede Woensdag in hegtenis geneem.

Saturday, 4 April 2020
2020. Botswana kills five suspected poachers in effort to save Rhinos.

Botswana has seen an unprecedented rise in rhinoceros poaching in the last 12 months. The government reports nearly 50 of the animals have been killed in the last 10 months, about one-tenth of the country’s rhino population. Officials say at this rate, the black rhino population, which numbers just a few dozen, could be wiped out by the end of next year.

Friday, 3 April 2020
2020. 12 elephants, 45 rhinos poached in 2019.

During last year, an estimated 12 elephants and 45 rhinos were poached during 2019, the ministry of environment and tourism’s wildlife crime report of 2019 shows. The ministry seized 116 elephant tusks and 8 rhino horns during the year, however, the reported notes that the number of elephant tusks seized does not relate directly to the number of elephants killed in Namibia, as some tusks may originate from elephants killed in neighbouring countries. The year under review saw wildlife crime cases registered (high-value species only) at 174 with 92 cases related to…

Friday, 3 April 2020
Jantze Z 2020. Wildlife crime registered every day.

Wildlife crime has become one of the central conservation challenges in Namibia, with a total of 174 wildlife species poached in the country last year alone. This number signifies an increase, as 115 were poached in 2018.

Thursday, 2 April 2020
Smit E 2020. Poachers nabbed in Etosha.

A Chinese national was granted bail last week in a poaching case involving two rhino horns.

Wednesday, 1 April 2020
Shikongo A 2020. Anti-poaching activities not affected by lockdown.

The ministry of environment says its anti-poaching activities will not be hindered by the rapidly spreading coronavirus, which has forced many countries, Namibia included, into a lockdown.

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