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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 - 18 of 18
Thursday, 29 February 2024
2024. Poaching increases in South Africa.
Rhino poaching in South Africa rose by 10% in 2023 versus the previous year. While the numbers came as no surprise, it is a stark reminder that there is still a lot of work to do to overcome the rhino poaching crisis!
Wednesday, 28 February 2024
2024. Nashorn-Wilderei in Südafrika merklich angestiegen.
In Südafrika hat die Wilderei von Nashörnern merklich zugenommen. Im vergangenen Jahr seien 499 Breitmaul- und Spitzmaulnashörner illegal getötet worden, teilte das südafrikanische Umweltministerium am Dienstag mit. Dies sei ein Anstieg um 11 Prozent im Vergleich zu 2022, sagte Umweltministerin Barbara Creecy. Besonders stark betroffen sei die südöstliche Provinz KwaZulu-Natal, in der 325 Fälle registriert wurden, so die Ministerin. Hotspot sei der Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park der Provinz, wo 307 illegal getötete Nashörner entdeckt wurden.
Tuesday, 27 February 2024
2024. Rhino poaching in South Africa increases in 2023.
South Africa recorded 499 rhinos poached in 2023, 51 more than the previous year, despite efforts to protect the animals, the government said on Tuesday. South Africa is home to nearly half of the critically-endangered black rhino population in Africa and to the world's largest population of near-threatened white rhinos. Rhinos are poached for their horns, which are used in east Asian countries for making traditional medicines and jewellery.
Tuesday, 27 February 2024
2024. KwaZulu-Natal carried the brunt of rhino poaching in 2023, says Creecy.
During 2023, 499 rhinos were poached across South Africa, 406 were killed on state properties and 93 on privately owned parks/reserves/farms. This was an increase (of 51) in comparison to 448 rhinos poached in 2022.
Tuesday, 27 February 2024
2024. South Africa sees marked rise in rhino poaching.
The South African Environment Ministry said on Tuesday that the number of rhinos poached in the country had risen by more than 10% in 2023 compared with the previous year. International trade of rhino horn is prohibited but rhino horn continues to be smuggled to Asia, where it is highly valued, especially in Vietnam and China. How the figures broke down - The ministry said 499 black and white rhinoceroses were killed in 2023, mostly in state-run parks, compared with 448 the previous year.
Tuesday, 27 February 2024
2024. Rhino poaching on the rise.
A sobering statistic out of South Africa today as they report an increase in rhino poaching. Almost 500 rhinos were killed for their horn in 2023, more than 60% of those in just one state park. While Kruger National Park has successfully deployed layers of security measures to adapt to the poaching crisis, other Parks haven’t taken the necessary steps to date to prevent these devastating losses.
Monday, 26 February 2024
Morris C 2024. Opportunity lost or covered - Nairobi court acquits Chinese national of wildlife trafficking.

It could have been the proverbial pot of gold. Instead, it became at best, an opportunity lost in the fight against transnational organized wildlife crime. On February 2, a Nairobi area court acquitted Hoang Thi Diu, a female of apparent Vietnamese/Chinese dual citizenship, of charges relating to the dealing and possession of 145 kilograms of ivory, rhino horn, lion's teeth, and claws. Objectively, and considering the evidence before the court, the verdict was not incorrect.

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
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.

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").

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