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The kingpin of one of Southern Africa's most prolific wildlife trafficking syndicates, Lin Yun Hua, was today sentenced to 14 years in prison in Malawi. Lin received 14 years for dealing in rhino horn, alongside 14 years for possession of rhino horn and six years for money laundering.

Die Internasionale Renosterstigting (IRF) het sy jaarverslag oor die toestand van renosterbevolkings wêreldwyd gepubliseer en Namibië is geïdentifiseer as die land met die grootste witrenosterbevolking. Die situasie van renosters in Afrika en oor die hele wêreld is egter kommerwekkend. Die aantal witrenosters op die Afrikavasteland het die afgelope jaar weens stropery afgeneem. Met 'n huidige bevolking van ongeveer 18 000, het dié getal die afgelope dekade met 12% afgeneem.

Since 2011, about 9 885 rhinos had been killed across Africa. Shaw said in a statement that while poaching in South Africa peaked in 2014 at 1 215 incidents, 394 rhinos were killed by poachers in 2020.

In a separate case, another Namibian national Ignasius Mbaraka was arrested at Outjo on 17 September, also in connection with an old case for conspiring to hunt a rhino. The case dates back to June when a rhino carcass and a vehicle were confiscated. He has been charged with the illegal hunting of specially protected game and for conspiring to hunt specially protected game. He is also a Namibian. Meanwhile, Namibian Alberto Johannes Joel was arrested on 12 September in Otavi for being in the possession of a pangolin. The case was not reported last week.

Die internationale Nashornstiftung (IRF) hat seinen jährlichen Bericht zum Zustand der Nashornpopulationen weltweit veröffentlicht und Namibia als Land mit der größten Population von Breitmaulnashörnern ausgewiesen. Allerdings sei die Situation der Nashörner sowohl in Afrika als auch weltweit besorgniserregend. Die Zahlen der Breitmaulnashörner auf dem afrikanischen Kontinent sind im vergangenen Jahr aufgrund von Wilderei geschrumpft. Mit etwa 18 000 Individuen ist die Population im vergangenen Jahrzehnt um 12 Prozent gesunken.

In a Daily Maverick webinar on Wednesday, Dr Luthando Dziba, the new CEO of South African National Parks, said there may be fewer than 3,000 rhinos in the Kruger Park for the first time - despite the park authority spending millions on rhino protection.

Three men have been arrested in connection with wildlife crime, Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said in a weekly wildlife crime report on Wednesday. According to the report, Alberto Johannes Joel was arrested on 12 September this year at Otavi in the Otjozondjupa region. He was reportedly found in possession of a live pangolin. Another suspect, Ignasius Mbaraka Mutunda, was arrested in connection with a June 2020 case when he was allegedly found in possession of a rhino carcass. He was arrested on Friday at Outjo in the Kunene region.

In the past decade Namibia's black rhino population have increased by more than 6% and its white rhinos have more than doubled. This is according to the latest State of Rhino report, published by the International Rhino Foundation every September ahead of World Rhino Day on September 22. But the report says wildlife crime is an ever-evolving challenge and requires collaboration and coordination within and between countries, as rhino horn trade is controlled by large criminal syndicates that operate multi-nationally.

As we celebrate World Rhino Day today - 22 September - we recognise the pioneering technological innovations that are proving to be highly effective in protecting Africa’s threatened rhino populations from poachers.

A 34-year old policeman is recovering in hospital after he was shot and injured during a shootout with rhino poachers in Vredefort in the Free State on Tuesday night.

Eleven years ago today, Dawie Groenewald, a little-known ex-policeman turned hunting safari operator, was arrested on charges of masterminding a lucrative rhino horn trafficking network involving professional hunters, vets and a pilot. A police spokesperson described the case at the time as "a huge stride in our undying efforts to thwart rhino poaching". The charges brought against Groenewald involved illegal hunting and the alleged killing of more than 50 of his own rhinos, dealing in rhino horns, money laundering, racketeering and fraud.

To the rangers who tracked him, he was known as Big Foot, the rhino poacher whose large barefoot prints were often spotted leading in and out of the Kruger National Park.

Klerksdorp, South Africa (Reuters) - South Africa's largest private rhino breeder - John Hume - says he has kept the rhino on his farm safe from poachers for four and a half years but cannot continue if he is not allowed to sell their horns.

AB Steyn and Dawie Groenewald appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrate's Court again on September 17 after they had been arrested in Mbombela on July 20. The pair was arrested for the alleged possession of 19 rhino horns on July 20, and after appearing in court on July 23 for the first time, they were released on bail of R50 000 each. Following their appearance today (September 17) the case was again postponed to December 10 for further investigation.

Johannesburg - Two alleged rhino poachers, a police officer and a Chinese interpreter, who appeared in the Palm View Magistrate's Court, have been released on bail of between R5 000 and R20 000.

Pretoria - A 53-year-old warrant officer within the South African Police Service (SAPS) was on Friday appearing in the Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court, with a female accomplice, on charges of alleged involvement in illegal dealings of rhino horns.

A well-known rhino pair were poached at the Bothongo Rhino and Lion Nature reserve early Wednesday morning. A rhino cow and her calf needlessly lost their lives when they were poached in the Bothongo Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve in the Cradle of Humankind in the early hours of Wednesday, September 15.

A Binga man has been arrested for possession of four elephant tusks. Matabeleland North police spokesperson Inspector Glory Banda confirmed the arrest of Zechariah Nyoni (44) from Bulubuza 44 village in Lusulu for unlawful possession of raw ivory weighing seven kilogrammes and valued at US$1 190. Banda said police received a tip that Nyoni had gone to collect elephant tusks in Chete Safaris near Nagangala River along Binga-Sibuwa road.

Francistown: It is more than two years since the state successfully appealed the case of the alleged SADC poaching ringleader, Dumisani Moyo, on urgency but has not acted on the appeal thereafter. In May 2019, Magistrate Lebogang Kebeetsweng acquitted and discharged Moyo of allegedly unlawfully being found in possession of a rhinoceros horn contrary to Section 70 of the Wildlife Conservation and National Parks Act.

South African scientists are studying ways to inject radioactive material into rhino horns to make them easier to detect at border posts, a move to discourage poaching, a researcher said on Friday. Poachers killed at least 249 rhinos in South Africa during the first six months of the year - 83 more than in the first half of 2020. The animals are slaughtered for their horns, which are smuggled into Asia where they are highly prized for traditional and medicinal purposes.

Durban - Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy said the department was using integrated approaches to address the increase in rhino poaching and horn trafficking. That was revealed in a parliamentary question from the IFP’s environmental affairs, forestry and fisheries spokesperson, Narend Singh. A total of 249 rhinos were poached for their horn in South Africa from January to the end of June this year and although the number was higher compared to last year, where 166 rhinos were killed, it was less than the 318 rhinos that were poached in 2019.

Among its many responsibilities as custodian of South Africa's natural heritage, the national conservation agency SANParks ensures the survival of rhino, black and white, in the face of continued poaching of this Big Five species. This responsibility, Democratic Alliance (DA) shadow forestry, fisheries and environment minister Dave Bryant maintains, is at least partially undermined by the agency’s setting of a rhinos poached "target".

The South African Police Service on Saturday welcomed the sentences handed down to three poachers for charges relating to the killing of rhinos in the Kruger National Park.

The Chief Resident Magistrate Court in Lilongwe has set 27 September, 2021, as the day for delivering judgement against a Chinese national, Yunhua Lin, who is answering charges of money laundering and rhino horn trafficking. Lin came to Malawi as an investor like many do but without proper screening and vetting, the country let in a criminal who is destroying our current and future economy. Lin is a member of one of Southern Africa’s most prolific wildlife trafficking syndicates, which has been operating out of Malawi for at least a decade.

Three rhino poachers were yesterday sentenced to 105 years in prison by the Skukuza Regional Court, for rhino poaching and related offences. The South African National Parks (SANParks) today, 3 September, welcomed the sentencing.

Kenyan authorities have welcomed the progress made in the fight against poaching, after the publication Monday night of the first animal census conducted in the country, which should serve as a basis for improving environmental conservation. According to the data, Kenya has 36,280 elephants, among other things, a population that is up 21 percent from 2014, when poaching peaked.

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.

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 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.

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.