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4 ivory traffickers arrested with 3 tusks in Congo in a crackdown on judicial corruption. One of them is the head clerk of the high court of Dolisie who used his position to traffic seized ivory from the court’s evidence room. He was denounced by the other traffickers and a raid was carried out his home the following morning when he arrested. Two of the tusks bear markings corresponding to our operation from 2021. This is an important step in combatting corruption in the judicial system. 2 traffickers arrested with 3 elephant tusks, 41 ivory statues, and 13 hippo teeth in Togo.…

On Thursday morning, a notice of appeal was filed with the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism to revoke the Environmental Impact Certificates (ECC), according to which mining was allowed in the protected and conservanial areas southwest of Khorixas. This came after the High Court temporarily banned all mining operations in the area in an urgent procedure until the environmental officer Timoteus Mufeti made a decision on the mining applications of Timoteus Mashuna and Otilie Ndeshetelwa Ndimulunde.

South Africa is home to thousands of rhinos, including critically endangered black rhinos (Diceros bicornis) and near-threatened white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum). Poachers kill hundreds of rhinos every year, usually for the animals' horns (SN: 4/9/20). The country's police force adopted forensic entomology into its poaching prevention arsenal in 2014, training officers to collect insect evidence found at wildlife crime scenes.

A conservation group from Khorixas in the Kunene region has called on the government to help stop mining activities that could pose a threat to highly endangered black rhinos. The Khorixas conservation community travelled to Windhoek to plead with the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism through a public demonstration on Thursday. Don Andrew, leader of the group, said the community wants the government to hear their plight. "There is high unemployment in the region, and conservation and tourism cater for jobs for the people," he said.

The game ranching industry in South Africa in the 1960s was based primarily on venison production and a small amount of photographic tourism. There was very little demand for white rhinos because they were specially protected animals; they couldn’t be safari hunted. Private landowners didn’t want rhinos because they required much capital investment in fencing and security. They were also in competition for food with other wildlife species that could generate income. The rhino was valueless.

On behalf of our communities living in Doro !Nawas and Ûibasen Twyfelfontein communal conservancies, we hereby humbly request that you prevent the mining of cheap tin in our Joint Management Area – an important area for black rhinoceros and high-value tourism. Our conservancies have worked closely with the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism and Save the Rhino Trust for 17 years to protect these rhinos. Until recently, our communities have seen few benefits from our years of dedication.

The Ministry of Environment has banned the export of white rhinos. This export ban mainly refers to the fact that the animals may not be used for breeding purposes outside their natural range. Apparently, 163 rhinos have already been born in breeding programs.

The country has recorded a decrease in arrests related to the poaching of rhinos, elephants, and pangolins, but authorities say more work is needed to combat the ongoing threat from international poaching syndicates. Speaking at a handover of donated vehicles last week, the Minister of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta said combined arrests for rhino and elephant poaching dropped from 143 last year to 91 this year. Pangolin-related crimes also saw a decline, with 30 cases recorded this year compared to 60 last year, Shifeta added.

A total of 46 rhinos, including 35 black and 11 white rhinos, have been killed in the Etosha National Park by poachers so far in 2024, minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Pohamba Shifeta has said. He made the announcement in the capital last week during the donation of 22 vehicles and information technology (IT) equipment, valued at N$19.8 million to the ministry by the Integrated Wildlife Protection Project. The donation was co-financed by the German state-owned KfW Development Bank.

The High Court granted an interdict this week ?? which keeps Ottilie Ndimulunde from carrying out mining operations and building a road or anything else on her mine mines in the Khorixas area. The interdict will be valid pending the outcome of a review application to the Environment Commissioner against the Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) issued. The Doro ! Nawas Conservation Area, Ûibasen Twyfelfontein Conservation Area, the ≠Aodaman Traditional Authority and the company Ultimate Safaris have brought an urgent application against Ndimulunde.

Shifeta also mentioned that the additional patrol vehicles will especially help ensure that units can reduce their response time. He said that the donated IT equipment will broaden their capabilities to deal with the administrative challenges of wildlife protection, as well as improve the monitoring and reporting of patrol efforts to demonstrate the impact of the money invested in the wildlife protection services.

The environmental commissioner has been ordered to decide by next Thursday whether environmental clearance certificates issued to a holder of mining claims in the Kunene region should be suspended or cancelled. Judge Esi Schimming-Chase issued the order in the Windhoek High Court yesterday. She also ordered that no mining activities may take place on eight mining claims held by Windhoek resident Ottilie Ndimulunde until the environmental commissioner has made his decision.

Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta has revealed plans to submit a Cabinet proposal to allow Namibia to sell or dispose of its tonnes of ivory and rhino horn stockpiles. In May, five nations that make up the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) trans-frontier conservation area: Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, and Angola jointly called for the lifting of a ban on ivory sales imposed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Following the export of 42 white rhinos from Namibia to the USA in a private sale, the environment ministry last week said it aims to introduce stricter exporting regulations. The 42 white rhinos, purchased from Kifaru Luxury Lodge and Bush Camp near Outjo, landed safely in Texas, USA, after being airlifted from Hosea Kutako Airport and transported on a Boeing 747.

Two American hunters have applied to import black rhino hunting trophies from Namibia. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service requested comments with regards to the two applications - one from a hunter in Texas and another from a hunter in Florida. "We invite the (American) public to comment on applications to conduct certain activities with foreign species that are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act," a statement read. Comments must be received by 24 October. The rhinos - Lippie and Willem, aged 28 and 31 - were hunted in Namibia.

The artificial intelligence (AI) cameras installed in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park failed to detect poachers after four dehorned rhinos were found last week. The carcasses were found on different days and appeared to have been killed a few days earlier.

As part of its many anti-poaching efforts, the Kruger National Park (KNP) dehorns some of its rhinos to make them a less attractive trophy for poachers.

A HCMC court Friday sentenced a man to six years in jail for illegally transporting rhino horns weighing over six kilograms from Mozambique.

Self-proclaimed prophet Jackson Babi has approached the High Court to appeal against a decision by the Windhoek Magistrate's Court to deny him bail. The flamboyant Babi claims magistrate Linus Samunzala misdirected himself in law and fact when he denied him bail. In September, the lower court refused to release Babi on bail, citing he failed to give convincing evidence to be released pending his trial. The court also ruled there was a likelihood Babi would interfere with the investigations.

The rhino population at Uganda's Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary has been growing steadily, from nearly extinction in the 1970s to 32 at present, due to increased security and protection.

A Vietnamese woman was arrested at Maputo International Airport on Monday, found in possession of ve pieces of rhino horn and 162 assorted lions' teeth and claws. It can be inferred that three rhinos and 12 lions, both species protected by law, were slaughtered in the amassing of the haul.

Etosha - Although poaching of endangered species such as rhino and elephant have been reported to be minimal in the Etosha National Park, environment minister Pohamba Shifeta has called on law enforcement officials to do ballistic testing among communities adjacent to the park. Shifeta made the call Wednesday when he was briefed on the security situation cluster on antipoaching operation 'Yes Ongava' phase 18 in the Etosha National Park.

Das Ministerium für Umwelt, Forstwirtschaft und Tourismus greift hart und konsequent gegen die Wilderei durch. Im Etoscha-Nationalpark wurde vor einiger Zeit eine spezialisierte Hundeeinheit stationiert, nun soll noch eine berittene Einheit dazukommen. "Der Etoscha-Nationalpark ist Namibias Aushängeschild. Touristen reisen in den Park und wollen die Artenvielfalt bewundern und beobachten - und genau das müssen wir schützen", stellte Umweltminister Pohamba Shifeta am Mittwoch bei Okaukuejo klar.

Kenya's black rhino population has doubled from less than 400 in 1985 to 794 by the end of 2019. Kenya is home to the last remaining two Northern White Rhinos in the world. "But, the Northern White Rhinos are endangered. There are only two existing in the world that are only found at the Ol Pejeta conservancy. We are making sure the white rhinos are saved and we produce more. We must protect these animals," said Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala during a webinar commemorating World Rhino Day last month.

An evangelical preacher who has been in jail since May after being arrested over the possession of rhino horns and the poaching of a rhino in the Gobabis district on Friday denied guilt on a charge of bribery in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court.

Namibian conservation efforts have faced a number of major crises over the past half century.

The three Kruger National Park employees who were arrested for possession of rhino horns were granted bail in the Bushbuckridge Magistrate's Court last Thursday.

The Bank of Namibia (BoN) joined the fight to preserve Namibian rhinos by supporting the Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) Namibia through a donation of N$480 000.

The Thirty Namibia Dollar banknote that was issued by the Bank of Namibia during the lockdown to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Independence, has proven so popular with collectors that a recent auction of only a few notes garnered proceeds of N$480,000.

Die Bank of Namibia (BoN) hat gestern dem Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) eine Spende in Höhe von 480000 N$ übergeben. "Das Nashorn ist eins der schönsten prähistorischen Tiere auf der Erde, jedoch ist es auf dem Weg der Ausrottung aufgrund des unverantwortlichen Verhaltens von Menschen" so der stellvertretende BoN-Gouverneur, Ebson Uanguta (r).