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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.

Explore your search results using the filter checkboxes, or amend your search or start a new search.

Displaying results 1 - 18 of 18
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.

Thursday, 31 December 2020
2020. China jails ivory smuggling ringleaders for life in landmark case.

17 people sentenced for moving millions of dollars in tusks from West Africa as part of the biggest illicit network of its kind in China. Life terms show authorities are coming down hard on illegal trade, campaigner says.

Sunday, 27 December 2020
2020. Renosterhoring, ivoor op Swakop-plot gevind.

‘n Bejaarde man is gister by die Swakopmundrivier-plotte glo met ‘n ou renosterhoring en vyf stukke olifanttande in sy besit vasgetrek. Volgens die Namibiese polisie se misdaadverslag volg die inhegtenisneming van die 69-jarige man nadat die volgende ander items ná ‘n soektog glo in sy besit gevind is: 27 patrone van ‘n .308-geweer, twee patrone van ‘n R1- outomatiese aanvalsgeweer en 33 patrone van ‘n .22-vuurwapen.

Wednesday, 23 December 2020
Smit E 2020. New project to protect black rhino.

A grant of 200 000 euro has been awarded to Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) Namibia to support local communities in protecting the world's last free-ranging black rhino population. It will also assist with the sustainability of initiatives that bring revenue to these communities. The project is funded by the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union (EU), through the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) Programme. According to SRT, this two-year project will train and equip trackers and rhino rangers to…

Tuesday, 22 December 2020
Smit E 2020. Donors keep boots on ground.

Despite global economic uncertainty, the Save the Rhino Trust's long-standing donors continued international and national support and kept boots on the ground. This is according to the organisation's CEO, Simon Uri-Khob, who thanked the SRT team and all partners and donors for their hard work in dealing with the adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic during the year. From April to August, Namibia was in various stages of government-mandated lockdown.

Monday, 21 December 2020
Steffen F 2020. SRT großzügig unterstützt.

BIOPAMA: 200000 Euro für Schutz des Spitzmaulnashorns. Knapp 3,8 Millionen N$ soll der Naturschutzfonds Save the Rhino Trust in den kommenden zwei Jahren zwecks verbesserter Ausbildung und Nachrüstung der Naturschutzbeamten in den Kommunalgebieten empfangen, in denen die letzten freilebenden Spitzmaulnashörner Namibias und sogar der Welt vorkommen.

Saturday, 12 December 2020
2020. Five white rhinos killed by poachers in November in Botswana.

At least five white rhinos were killed and dehorned on different occasions in November, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in Botswana confirmed Thursday.

Tuesday, 8 December 2020
Raiva F 2020. Mozambique: Seven arrested on poaching related charges in Sofala.

Two teachers and five other people from Muanza district in Sofala province, including a smallholder and a public administration technician, were arrested this weekend while trying to sell two elephant tusks and the skin of a leopard for 44,000 meticais (24,000 for the tusks and 20,000 for leopard skin).

Friday, 4 December 2020
Klein D 2020. NGO: Poverty fuels South African wildlife crimes.

Every day about two rhinoceroses are killed in South Africa for their horns. Be it for traditional medical purposes, or to impress friends with gifts such as carved figurines and necklaces, the demand in East Asia is high for rhino horns and wealthy buyers are willing to pay a good price. South Africa, on the other hand, is home to two third of Africa's rhinos while nearly half of the adult population lives in poverty.

Friday, 4 December 2020
Singh K 2020. KZN wildlife under siege from illegal hunters.

KwaZulu-Natal wildlife is "under attack" by illegal hunters across the province says Blessed Gwala, the IFP spokesperson for community safety and liaison. Last week the carcasses of four dehorned rhinos were found in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park.

Thursday, 3 December 2020
Ro C 2020. Convicted poachers in South Africa explain why heavy policing is ineffective.

It's clear why the illegal wildlife trade exists. Where there's consumer demand for products from endangered species, there are bound to be networks seeking to profit from that demand. But what about the motivations of individual offenders? TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade NGO, decided to simply ask them. The researchers interviewed 73 people in South African correctional centers, who had been convicted of crimes related to rhinos, abalone, or cycads (ancient palm-like plants that have been called "the world's most endangered plants").

Thursday, 3 December 2020
Smit E 2020. Four years for pangolin trafficking.

A suspected rhino poacher has been arrested at Grootfontein, while a Windhoek man has been sentenced to an effective four years in jail for selling pangolin skins or a N$40 000 fine.

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