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Shocking official statistics have emerged which show that the world's single-largest population of rhinos - those living in the flagship Kruger National Park - has been slashed by between 66% and 70% over the past decade, mainly due to the unrelenting wave of butchery by international hornpoaching syndicates.

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.

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.

It reveals how some offenders identified the Zambezi Region, which lies within the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-Frontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA), as the local hub for trading of wildlife products. Kongola, Rundu, and Windhoek were also implicated as local locations for transit or sale of wildlife products, while Bwabwata, Mudumu, Nkasa Rupara, and Etosha National Parks were identified as the sources for elephant, lion, and rhino products.

Prosecutor general Martha Imalwa has decided to only prosecute self-proclaimed preacher Jackson Babi for his alleged attempt to bribe investigating officers last year following his arrest on charges stemming from the possession of two rhino horns, a firearm and ammunition without a valid licence.

A Kenyan man accused in a multimillion-dollar operation to deal rhinoceros horns and ivory from elephant tusks - harming more than 100 endangered animals - arrived in the city Monday morning after being extradited to face charges of conspiracy to commit wildlife trafcking and other counts.

Three black rhinos were found killed in separate incidents in the Lephalale and Gravelotte policing areas. In the first incident, a rhino was found shot and killed at a local game reserve in the Waterberg district on Friday, 22 January.

A 36-year-old man appeared at the Kempton Park Regional Court on Monday, 18 January, after being arrested for illegal dealing in rhino horns. Kelvin Chigwede - who was arrested on Saturday - was charged for illegal dealing in rhino horns and contravention of the National Environmental Biodiversity Act (NEMBA) according to Hawks’ spokesperson Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu.

Ses vermeende renosterstropers is vasgetrek en bly in aanhouding nadat 'n witrenosterbul in die Okahandja-distrik gestroop is. Volgens die hoof van die Blue Rhino-taakspan, komm. Barry de Klerk, is die karkas van die bul met sy horings verwyder omstreeks 07:30 op Vrydag 8 Januarie op 'n private wildreservaat gevind. Hy het bevestig dit is die eerste renoster wat vanjaar in Namibië gestroop is.

Rhino horns weighing more than 70kg were discovered in chicken food mixture in a warehouse in Kempton Park in December. The Hawks arrested a 36-year-old man in Gauteng at the weekend for being a suspected rhino horn dealer.

Sechs mutmaßliche Nashornwilderer wurden festgenommen, nachdem vor zehn Tagen im Bezirk Okahandja ein Breitmaulnashornbulle gewildert worden war. Nach der Bekanntgabe der Nachricht am vergangenen Freitag gab der Leiter der Blue Rhino Task Force, Barry de Klerk, an, dass der Kadaver des Tiers - ohne Nasenhörner - eine Woche zuvor in einem privaten Wildreservat gefunden worden war.

Sechs mutmaßliche Nashornwilderer wurden festgenommen, nachdem vor zehn Tagen im Bezirk Okahandja ein Breitmaulnashornbulle gewildert worden war. Nach der Bekanntgabe der Nachricht am vergangenen Freitag gab der Leiter der Blue Rhino Task Force, Barry de Klerk, an, dass der Kadaver des Tiers - ohne Nasenhörner - eine Woche zuvor in einem privaten Wildreservat gefunden worden war.

Zimbabwean police officer Sergeant Tawanda Kwaramba drove from Bulawayo to Victoria Falls on September 16 2019, on a mission to undermine the law he had sworn to uphold. In Victoria Falls he loaded seven Chinese nationals into a stolen car and drove more than 900km to Sango on the border with Mozambique. From Sango border post, the Chinese nationals - Zeng Dengui, Peicon Jang, Liu Cheng, Yu Xian, Yong Zhiu, Cheng Zhiang and Qui Jinchang - were driven across south-central Mozambique to Maputo and the safety of a Chinese fishing boat that was due to sail them home.

Ses vermeende renosterstropers is vasgetrek nadat 'n witrenosterbul verlede week in die Okahandja-distrik gestroop is. Volgens die hoof van die Blue Rhino-taakspan, komm. Barry de Klerk, is die karkas van die bul met sy horings verwyder omstreeks 07:30 op Vrydag, 8 Januarie op 'n private wildreservaat gevind.

Namibia saw a continued downward trend in rhino and elephant poaching last year after stepping up patrols and sharply increasing nes, the government said on Thursday. Citing intensied intelligence operations by authorities and collaboration between the government and the private sector, environment ministry spokesman Romeo Muyunda said 30 rhinos had been poached last year compared with 50 in 2019 and 79 in 2018. Only 11 elephants were poached in 2020 compared with 13 a year earlier.

Six men suspected of rhino poaching have been arrested after a white rhino bull was poached in the Okahandja district last week. According to the head of the Blue Rhino task team, Commissioner Barry de Klerk, the carcass of the bull - with its horns removed - was discovered around 07h30 on a private game reserve."Detectives from the task force and the protected species unit of the Namibian police launched an intelligence-driven investigation last Saturday. During a secret operation, two suspects, Jeff Makayi Nadango (36) and Stefanus Muyenga Musore (49), were…

Namibia saw a continued downward trend in rhino and elephant poaching last year after stepping up patrols and sharply increasing fines, the government said on Thursday. Citing intensified intelligence operations by authorities and collaboration between the government and the private sector, environment ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said 30 rhinos had been poached last year compared with 50 in 2019 and 79 in 2018. Only 11 elephants were lost to poachers in 2020 compared with 13 a year earlier.

Commercial and subsistence poaching in protected areas is on the rise. The extent of loss sustained by Namibia on account of the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) is not reliably quantified (Anon., 2017). Wildlife populations for some of Namibia’s most iconic species - African Elephant Loxodonta africana, and Black Rhinoceros Diceros bicornis - are currently under threat due to IWT, and increased poaching in recent years is damaging their otherwise healthy populations.

Three Kruger National Park staff members who were arrested for the possession of rhino horns earlier this month are due to appear in the Bushbuckridge Magistrate's Court for bail application today.

The police have concluded their investigations into the case of self-proclaimed preacher Jackson Babi, who stands accused of attempting to bribe officers of the law about three months ago. Babi appeared alongside his co-accused Ananias Ananias yesterday before magistrate Linus Samunzala in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court.

Die selfverklaarde profeet Jackson Babi en ’n medebeskuldigde wat glo polisieondersoekbeamptes met N$13 000 probeer omkoop het, sal volgende week in die hof pleit.

The self-proclaimed prophet Jackson Babi and a co-accused who allegedly tried to bribe police investigators with N $ 13 000, will plead in court next week.

Prophet Jackson Babi and another man, Ananias Ananias, who stand accused of attempting to bribe a police officer, are expected to make another court appearance next month in connection with the charges. The two men briefly appeared in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court on bribery charges after it was alleged that they offered a police officer N$13 000 to make the charges against Babi disappear.

A one-year-old white rhino calf has been killed by poachers on a farm in the Gobabis district. Farm owner Walter Kinnear says the calf’s tiny horn was removed by the poachers.

’n Renosterverskalfie van slegs een jaar oud wat steeds aan haar ma gedrink het, is op ’n wildsplaas in die Gobabis-distrik gestroop.

A one-year-old rhino calf who was still drinking from her mother was poached on a game farm in the Gobabis district.

Die Polizei hat am Wochenende gleich mehrere Fälle des Viehdiebstahls bzw. der Wilderei gemeldet - darunter gehört auch die Tötung eines Nashorn-Kalbs. In einigen Fällen hat es Festnahmen gegeben.

The police reported several cases of cattle theft and poaching over the weekend - including the killing of a rhinoceros calf. There have been arrests in some cases

The employees, two of whom are security guards while the other is attached to technical services at one of the Kruger National Park rest camps, appeared in court on Thursday following the discovery of fresh rhino horns in their vehicle. In a statement released by SANParks on Friday, the Managing Executive for the Kruger park, Gareth Coleman, said it was "always disheartening when colleagues from SANParks are involved in criminal activities.

South African National Parks (SANParks) announced the arrest of three staff members on 20 October 2020; in an extended Intel driven operation by SANParks, SAPS Crime Intelligence Unit, Sabi Sands and Skukuza SAPS Stock Theft Unit outside Kruger Gate. Two of the officials were employed as Security Guards and one was attached to Technical Services at one of the rest camps. The three were likely to appear in court on Thursday, 22 October 2020 and will thereafter be subjected to internal employee disciplinary procedures.

Three SA National Parks (SANParks) employees, among them two security guards, have been arrested in possession of fresh rhino horns outside the gates of the Kruger National Park. SANParks said the third person arrested is in technical services.

Anti-poaching initiatives instituted by Zimbabwe are bearing fruits as the country recorded a 78 percent decline in rhino poaching incidents in the first six months of 2020 compared to same period last year. Statistics from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) show that four rhinos were poached from January to June 2020. The figure for January - June 2019 was 19.

Namibia has drastically cut down on the number of rhino poaching cases in the past year despite the country still battling the problem, Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta told Parliament on Wednesday.

SADC countries have individually decided not to get involved in the non-commercial international trade in rhino horn. This questionable decision has happened despite approval for such trade by the UN international wild trade-regulating agency, CITES, and despite the help, it would give to wildlife conservation, the jobs it would create, and the socio-economic benefits it would bring to Southern Africa. Why? The reluctance to trade rhino horn in any way possible seems strange in the face of the economic devastation, particularly to rural areas, caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

SADC countries have individually decided not to get involved in the non-commercial international trade in rhino horn. This questionable decision has happened despite approval for such trade by the UN international wild trade-regulating agency, CITES, and despite the help it would give to wildlife conservation, the jobs it would create, and the socio-economic benefits it would bring to Southern Africa.

At Opuwo, two Namibians were arrested on 13 October for being in possession of a pangolin. At Grootfontein, a Namibian, Raimo Kakongo, was arrested on 11 October on a charge of conspiring to poach a rhino. The case dates back to August this year. He has been charged with contravening the Riotous Assemblies Act. At Opuwo, two Namibians were arrested on 13 October for being in possession of a pangolin. Uaninazo Muheke and Mavetumbuavi Mutambo were charged with contravening the Controlled Wildlife Products and Trade Act.

Until an illegal wildlife trade report was published in May 2015, Malawi's role in one of the world's largest transnational organised crimes was largely unknown. The landlocked southeast African nation - bordered by countries with large wildlife populations - was revealed to be a major trafficking hub for ivory, pangolin scales, rhino horn and other illegal wildlife commodities. Malawi's weak identification and enforcement systems were being systematically exploited by criminals to export their products to China, Vietnam and other demand countries. In response…

Patrol groups of the paramilitary National Anti-Poaching Squad have arrested 27 people on suspicions of being involved in a series of poaching incidents in the past 10 months in the Moyowosi and Uvinza game reserves of Kigoma region.

Namibia is dehorning most of its endangered black rhinos in an effort to curb poaching, official said Thursday. According to Environment Ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda, Namibia has dehorned about 208 rhinos this year, bringing the total number of dehorned rhinos to 666 since 2018.

Een Angolese en ses Namibiese mans is verlede week by Mururani in verband met renosterstropery vasgetrek. Volgens die hoof van die Blue Rhino-taakspan, komm. Barry de Klerk, is ’n swartrenosterbul gekwes. "Weens die erge skietwonde moes 'n veearts ongelukkig die renoster uitsit," het De Klerk aan Republikein gesê.

By introducing a zoning approach, the necessary resources can be redirected to areas most in need of support. Seven Integrated Wildlife Zones are being introduced across South Africa to protect the country’s rhino. "By demarcating areas primarily around rhino populations, wildlife in the area, as well the people living in and around conservation areas, will be protected," said the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Barbara Creecy.

Pangolins are the most poached and trafficked animal species in Namibia, crime statistics show. A total of 174 wildlife crime cases involving high-value species were registered last year and more than 360 suspects were arrested. According to the 2019/2020 annual progress report of the environment ministry, 92 of these cases related to pangolin, 54 related to elephants, 32 related to rhinos and 17 to conspiracy to poach rhinos.

The arrest and recovery was made by the Pietermaritzburg Flying Squad and K9 Unit during a joint operation. A South Coast man was arrested for being in possession of a rhino horn valued at R1,2 million after being stopped during a police operation in Pietermaritzburg last week.

As international borders reopen, the government has warned game reserves around SA to prepare for a possible resurgence in rhino poaching. Because of this threat, hundreds of rhinos in game reserves in the North West have been dehorned to protect them from poachers. Dehorning involves tracking the animals and darting them before removing their horns while they are sedated. Tracking the rhinos requires two helicopters and teams of people on the ground.

Fourteen suspects have been arrested in connection with wildlife crimes and seven new cases have been registered. Three of the suspects were arrested in connection with rhino poaching or trafficking. According to the information provided by the intelligence and investigation unit within the environment and tourism ministry and the protected resources unit within the safety and security ministry, 11 illegal wildlife products were seized.

Despite COVID-19 bringing global travel to a standstill, Wilderness Safaris has rearmed its dedication to conserving and restoring Africa’s wilderness by continuing to support vital conservation projects in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. This included a recent donation from Wilderness Safaris' Sustainability Fund to support the operating costs of the Scorpion Anti-Poaching Unit (SAPU) until end December 2020.

Pietermaritzburg police intercepted and arrested a man transporting rhino horn worth R1.2 million this morning.

Namibia doesn't just do anti-poaching patrols to protect rhinos. A broad suite of initiatives is in place to combat wildlife crime. These include community participation, monitoring and surveillance, security infrastructure, multi-agency partnerships, private sector support, international collaboration and more. Yet foremost among them are superb law-enforcement mechanisms to find, arrest and prosecute perpetrators.

Six suspects have been arrested in connection with wildlife crimes and two new cases were registered last week. Three of the suspects were arrested for elephant poaching and one suspect was arrested for rhino poaching. According to information provided by the intelligence and investigation unit in the environment ministry and the protected resources unit in the safety and security ministry, three illegal wildlife products were confiscated. At Mukwe in the Kavango East Region, three Namibians were arrested on 22 September for being in possession of two elephant tusks.