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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When it comes to protecting our rhinos from poachers, there's not a one-size-fits-all solution. There are several ways that national parks, game reserves and organisations are fighting rhino poaching, from fitting rhinos with tracking devices, having anti-poaching units on the ground actively monitoring them, rhino dehorning, education drives, and more. And these do not happen in isolation either, as often a combination of methods are needed to successfully deter poachers. Naturally, all of these hero organisations doing the hard work protecting our rhinos need funds to operate…
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AFRICA_2022_03_Protecting our rhinos from poachers_Rhino Africa Blog.pdf | 699.37 KB |
Five people found guilty of rhino poaching and related charges were handed down sentences ranging from 16 years to 18 years behind bars.
Corruption is a key enabler of the illegal wildlife trade and its effects can be seen in every stage of this crime chain. This is according to a new report by the wildlife trade monitoring network, TRAFFIC, which said by reviewing past wildlife crime court cases, the relationship between these crimes and corruption can be better understood. It noted that thoroughly investigating corruption in these cases can potentially identify higher-level individuals for investigation, arrest, conviction and appropriate sentencing, disrupting organised criminal groups to a greater extent.
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NAM_2022_03_Corruption reviewed in wildlife court cases_Namibian Sun.pdf | 562.07 KB |
Aiming an immobilizing dart at a rapidly moving animal while leaning out of an airborne helicopter seems like an absurd undertaking, but this is how wildlife veterinarians are able to sedate a charging rhino. It's hair-raising work, but can save the rhino's life. Once the rhino lies down, the helicopter lands and a team of experts from Mozambique Wildlife Alliance (MWA) race towards the immobilized animal. They gently cover its eyes with a cloth, keeping it calm.
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MOZ_2002_03_Mozambiques new conservation_Wildlife Conservation Network.pdf | 886.33 KB |
Cape Town - Poaching continues to decimate the rhino population with 451 rhinos poached in South Africa last year, 327 of them from government reserves and 124 from private property.
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SA_2022_03_Rhino poaching_the trade and the convictions_IOL.pdf | 382.22 KB |
South African National Parks (SANParks) today, 19 March 2022, welcomed the sentence meted out by the Skukuza Regional Court to a man convicted on 12 counts associated with poaching. The accused, Mike Nyathi, a 39 year old Mozambican man with a South African citizenship, faced 14 charges relating to two separate cases of rhino poaching.
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SA_2022_03_Rhino Poacher in Kruger Park Handed 53 Years Jail Sentence_SAPeople.pdf | 401.03 KB |
Rural communities in the Okavango Delta in Botswana have accused the country's government of not engaging them in efforts to combat rampant poaching in the area. Since 2018, more than 100 rhinos have been gunned down by poachers in the Delta and communities in the region say the situation might have been better had the government engaged them in anti-poaching work.
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BOT_2022_03_Botswana residents want to be included in anti_poaching efforts_The Independent.pdf | 1.72 MB |
Pretoria - Sixty dogs have been dispatched across the Kruger National Park to help curb poaching. The almost 2 million-hectare park has a major problem with poachers targeting rhinos, lions and elephants.
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SA_2022_03_Sixty dogs dispatched across Kruger National Park to help curb poaching_IOL.pdf | 397.74 KB |
Our analysis of wildlife crimes data, supported by numerous interviews, finds evidence of systematic failure by Nigerian law enforcement and the judicial system to hold wildlife poachers and traffickers accountable.
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NIG_2022_03_Inside Nigerias shocking wildlife crimes and how culprits escape justice_allafrica_com.pdf | 515.28 KB |
Pretoria - The Tembisa Regional Court has convicted and sentenced 49-year-old Ping Wu to five years direct imprisonment for money laundering. Spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi, said in April 2019, the Hawks serious organised crime investigation team based in Middelburg registered an undercover investigation into allegations of illegal trade in rhino horn. "The scope of the project was to address a syndicate in Gauteng who were illegally dealing in rhino horns," said Sekgotodi.
The Criminal Offenses Investigation Directorate (DIIP) detained in flagrante two nationals in possession of 10 rhinoceros horns that would be sold for four million Kwanzas, in the Nambambi neighborhood, on the outskirts of the city of Lubango, Huíla province, this Thursday said. fair to the police.
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ANG_2021_10_PN detained two men with 10 rhino horns that they intended to sell for 4 million Kz.pdf | 449.65 KB |
A 24 percent decline in the number of white rhinos over the past decade has caused wildlife conservationists to panic over the future of the endangered pachyderms on the African continent. Despite concerted efforts made by most African states to protect their rhinoceros populations, an International Rhino Foundation (IRF) report has revealed that rhino numbers continue to drop due to poaching.
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AFRICA_2021-10_Continued African Rhino loses alarm conservationists_ FairPlanet.pdf | 75.19 KB |
The department of forestry, fisheries and the environment has welcomed the hefty sentences handed down by a North West court to three rhino poachers on Wednesday. The Mogwase regional court handed down sentences of 85 years each to Mozambican nationals Arlindo Muhlanga, Adam Hlongwane and Gamula Chauke. The men were arrested in 2018 after the poaching and dehorning of three white rhino cows in the Pilanesberg Game Reserve.
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SA_2021_10_Department welcomes hefty sentences imposed on three rhino poachers_Times Live.pdf | 370.12 KB |
The Botswana government is moving rhinos out of the Okavango Delta after a surge in poaching that has seen 92 of the endangered animals killed in the past two years, compared to just seven in 2010 to 2018. The delta is one of two World Heritage Sites in the southern African country, a 20,000 square-kilometer (7,700 square-mile) wetland populated by 130 animal species, including white and black rhinos. It's Botswana's premier tourist attraction and the rhinos are a major drawcard.
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BOT_2021_10_Botswana moves rhinos out of Okavango Delta as poaching worsens_Bloomberg.pdf | 161.85 KB |
Three poachers were sentenced to a cumulative 85 years imprisonment on charges relating to a rhino poaching incident at the Pilanesberg Game Reservice in the North West. On 2 July 2018, the trio were trying to leave the game reserve in the North West in a white Ford bakkie loaded with stolen rhino horns valued at R1.5 million. Their bail application was denied and they remained in police custody until the completion of the trial.
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SA_2021_10_Three rhino poachers sentenced to 85 years imprisonment_The Citizen.pdf | 430.25 KB |
Three men accused of rhino poaching have each been sentenced to an effective 35 years in jail. They were found in possession of rhino horn valued at R1.5 million. The accused were found to have killed three female rhinos in 2018.
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SA_2021_10_Three poachers get an effective 35 years behind bars for killing 3 female rhinos_News24.pdf | 431.48 KB |
Botswana wildlife authorities have refuted reports the country's rhinoceros population is on the verge of extinction due to poaching. The southern African country has battled a rise in poaching, with more than 60 animals killed in the last two years.
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BOT_2021_10_Botswana allays concerns over rhino poaching crisis_VOA News.pdf | 360.29 KB |
Poaching has been the greatest threat to wildlife and might cause its extinction in different African countries including Zimbabwe, a wildlife expert has said. Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe president Emmanuel Fundira yesterday said, while game meat production can contribute to economic growth in the country, there was need to curb poaching activities. In a survey conducted in eastern Madagascar, it was revealed that 95% of those interviewed said they had eaten at least one protected species.
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ZIM_2021_10_Poaching a threat to Africas wildlife_NewsDay.pdf | 946.8 KB |
Four suspected rhino poachers were arrested over the weekend (15-18 October) in the Kruger National Park, thanks to the brave efforts of members of the Rangers Corp, assisted by the K9 Unit and the Aviators of the Airwing. The arrests - as well as one fatality - took place in the Stolznek section of the Park, South African National Parks (SANParks) said in an announcement today.
At the peak of the rhino poaching war in South Africa in 2015 and 2016, poachers slaughtered nearly three rhinos a day. Although that rate has declined, the numbers are still disheartening and unsustainable, with poachers killing at least one rhino every day. Some conservationists have looked to drones as a potentially powerful tool in anti-poaching efforts, with the technology continuing to evolve. But experts say it isn’t at the level yet where it can meet the challenge, and that while it can be helpful, conservation efforts must continue to engage and educate local…
The 38-year-old poacher was sentenced to 19 years behind bars after a white rhinoceros was killed in Lower Sabie in 2014.
The poaching of endangered species such as rhinos and elephants in Namibia has significantly decline this year. This is according to data provided by Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism on Thursday. So for, a total of 14 rhinos and five elephants were killed by poachers this year in Namibia.
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NAM_2021_10_Rhino and elephant poaching declines_Informante.pdf | 2.36 MB |
The connections between poaching and human-wildlife conflict in conservancies are a significant local conservation concern. Meanwhile, poaching is compromising the ability of local communities to legally use natural resources to support local livelihoods, and reduces wildlife available for local economic development. This is according to the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Alka Bhatia. She was speaking at a signing ceremony of the 'integrated approach to proactive management of human-wildlife conflict and wildlife crime in hotspot landscapes in Namibia' project…
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NAM_2021_10_Poaching_wildlife conflict connected_Namibian Sun.pdf | 172.31 KB |
A long-serving nature conservation official and a former policeman have been charged in connection with illegally transporting 17 rhino horns from the Northern Cape to North West province in contravention of permit conditions.
At least 369 alleged poachers have been arrested in the last nine months, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism says. "Of these cases, 100 are related to pangolin poaching and trafficking, 64 to elephant poaching and trafficking, while 113 are related to rhino poaching and trafficking," ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda says. Over the last five years, elephant poaching has declined from 50 cases in 2017 to five thus far this year, while rhino poaching declined from 81 cases in 2018 to 14 this year. Ministry officials last week discovered two carcasses…
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NAM_2021_10_Poaching_ 369 arrests in nine months_The Namibian.pdf | 705.31 KB |
An official from the North West Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism will appear in the Mmabatho Magistrate’s Court on Monday 11 October after he was arrested in connection with illegal rhino horn trade. The official and the owner of a security company were arrested on Thursday afternoon in relation to alleged contraventions of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, the Rhino Norms and Standards, and contravention of permit conditions.
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SA_2021_10_Government official to appear in court for rhino horn trade_The South African.pdf | 393.38 KB |
Pretoria - An official from the North West department of economic development, environment, conservation and tourism (Dedect) has been arrested in connection with illegal rhino horn trade, the national department of forestry, fisheries and the environment has confirmed. The official and the owner of a security company were arrested yesterday in relation to alleged contraventions of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, the rhino norms and standards and contravention of permit conditions.
Poaching incidents in the country continues to decline, with only 14 rhinos and 5 elephants having been killed so far this year, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism indicated this week. According to statistics from the ministry’s spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda said, seven white rhinos plus one black rhino were poached from private farms, while six black rhinos were poached from the Etosha National Park. The five elephants poached were from the Zambezi, Kavango East and Otjozondjupa regions, Muyunda added.
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NAM_2021_10_Poaching cases continue to decline as law enforcers tighten noose_Namibia Economist.pdf | 768.77 KB |
Stakeholders of the Tsavo Landscape Multi-Agency Wildlife Security Hub in Taita Taveta have agreed to establish wildlife security hubs to tackle human-wildlife conflicts, illegal trafficking and poaching. The two state of the art centres will be located at Kenya Wildlife Services office in Voi and at the Kasigau wildlife corridor. Wildlife insecurity in Kenya is characterised by poaching, illicit trade, commercial poaching for bush meat and destruction of habitats.