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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Police arrest six suspected rhino poachers in Limpopo and Gauteng; recover horns, guns and ammunition.
It's not rocket science. Harsher sentences - both locally and abroad - need to be dished out to those who poach rhinos for their horns, or smuggle those horns to other countries. The South African government reported 448 rhinos were killed across the country in 2022 - just three fewer than the previous year. It's welcoming to hear a Singapore court on Friday sentenced Gumede Sthembiso Joel, a 33- year-old South African man, to two years in jail for smuggling rhino horns. It was the heaviest sentence handed down by the city state for trafcking wildlife parts.
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SA_2024_29_Harsh jail sentences way to end war on rhino poaching_The Citizen.pdf | 231.65 KB |
Two men are expected to appear in the Vryheid magistrate's court after they were arrested with two rhino horns and a rie hidden in their car's engine compartment. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Lt-Col Nqobile Gwala said ofcers acted on information about the suspects and spotted their vehicle on the R34 travelling towards Vryheid and a high-speed chase ensued.
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SA_2024_19_Police arrest two men with rhino horns after high_speed car chase_Timeslive.pdf | 414.61 KB |
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NAM_2024_01_SRT volg eenvoudige benadering tot stropery_Republikein.pdf | 224.82 KB |
NAM_2024_01_SRT takes simple approach to poaching_Republikein_Eng.pdf | 225.05 KB |
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NAM_SRT challenges military style approach to poaching_Namibian Sun.pdf | 457.63 KB |
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NAM_2024_01_Nashornschutz auf andere Weise_ Allgemeine Zeitung.pdf | 295.45 KB |
NAM_2024_01_Rhino protection in a different way_Allgemeine Zeitung_Eng.pdf | 294.38 KB |
Dit gaan baie goed met Venasha, die renosterkalfie wat in Oktober 2022 by die Rhino Momma-projek aangekom het, nadat sy deur haar ma verwerp is. Volgens Juliette Erdtsieck, haar versorger van die afgelope 19 maande, bly Venasha onder meer saam met drie renosterkoeie en hul kalwers in 'n kamp. "Sy word nou regtig baie groot en is 'n regte renoster! Sy het op 26 November haar laaste bottel melk gekry en aan die einde van die jaar is sy na die groot kamp verskuif," sê Juliette. Die Rhino Momma-projek in Namibië het in 2022 in een maand twee wees-renosterkalfies gekry.
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NAM_2024_01_Venasha_die renoster blom_Republikein.pdf | 226.3 KB |
NAM_2024_01_Venasha_The rhino flower_Republikein_Eng.pdf | 454.95 KB |
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.
‘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.
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NAM_2020_12_Renosterhoring_ivoor op Swakop-plot gevind_Republikein.pdf | 191.31 KB |
NAM_2020_12_Rhino horn_ivory found on Swakop plot_Republikein_Eng.pdf | 201.27 KB |
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…
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NAM_2020_12_New project to protect black rhino_Namibian Sun.pdf | 345.09 KB |
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.
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NAM_2020_12_Donors keep boots on ground_Namibian Sun.pdf | 446.06 KB |
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.
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NAM_2020_12_SRT großzuegig unterstuetzt_Allgemeine Zeitung.pdf | 2.51 MB |
NAM_2020_12_SRT generously supported_Allgemeine Zeitung_ENG.pdf | 2.51 MB |
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.
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BOT_2020-12_Five white rhinos killed by poachers in November in Botswana_The Star.pdf | 79.96 KB |
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).
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MOZ_2020-12_Seven arrested on poaching related charges in Sofala_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 673.24 KB |
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.
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SA_2020-12_NGO Poverty Fuels South African Wildlife Crimes_OCCRP.pdf | 460.93 KB |
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.
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SA_2020-12_KZN wildlife under siege from illegal hunters_IOL.pdf | 104.59 KB |
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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NAM_2020-12_Four years for pangolin trafficking_Namibian Sun.pdf | 282.63 KB |
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").
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SA_2020-12_Convicted poachers in South Africa explain why heavy policing is ineffective_Forbes.pdf | 350.26 KB |