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Indonesia's Forestry Ministry has foiled an international wildlife trafficking operation involving a Chinese national attempting to smuggle parts of protected animals through North Sulawesi. The suspect, identified by the initials BQ, was caught with a cache of illegal animal parts including rhino horns, tiger fangs, and gall bladders. Dwi Januanto Nugroho, Director General of Law Enforcement at the Forestry Ministry, said the case is part of a broader crackdown on transnational wildlife crime.

Mozambican national Nelson Sandile Sambo has been jailed for 20 years for rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park. Sambo (43) was arrested by SA National Parks field rangers in December 2020 after he and an accomplice shot and then hacked off the horns of two rhinos in the Stolznek section of the park. Sambo and Gabriel Chauke were granted bail soon after their arrest, but both suspects promptly jumped bail. While Chauke remains at large, Sambo was re-arrested in 2023 and has now been jailed for 20 years after he pleaded guilty to several charges in the Skukuza Regional Court…

While drones were previously allowed under stringent regulations, their unauthorized use has become more frequent. As reported by African Travel and Tourism Association, this new measure aims to mitigate visitor disturbances and combat potential poaching activities. Etosha National Park is home to 72% of Namibia’s black rhino population. However, it has recently experienced a troubling increase in poaching, with 19 rhinos reported killed in the first quarter of 2024.

Wildlife trafficking in Việt Nam has grown increasingly sophisticated and harder to detect in recent years as traders shift their operations to digital platforms. According to a Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network's (TRAFFIC) report, Việt Nam recorded approximately 22,500 online advertisements for wildlife and wildlife products from June 2021 to July 2023. Facebook dominates as the primary platform, accounting for 51.3 per cent of the activity, followed by Zalo at 35.5 per cent.

The Skukuza regional court on Thursday sentenced Mozambican Nelson Sandile Sambo to an effective 20-year jail term for poaching-related offences. Sambo, 43, was convicted on seven counts, including trespassing, killing a rhino and possession of a firearm.

A 54-year-old Zimbabwean fugitive, Thomas Chauke, also known as Sazu Nkambuya, has been sentenced to 110 years in prison after being convicted of multiple charges, including rhino poaching, escaping lawful custody, and illegal possession of firearms. Chauke was convicted by the Makhanda High Court following a thorough investigation by the SAPS Stock Theft and Endangered Species (STES) Unit. He pleaded guilty to six counts of rhino poaching and wildlife-related crimes, as well as three counts of escaping lawful custody.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has announced a complete ban on drones within Etosha National Park, citing escalating security concerns linked to rhino poaching. Colgar Sikopo, the ministry’s deputy executive director of Natural Resource Management, stated that while drones were previously permitted under strict conditions, the increasing misuse by visitors has necessitated a stricter approach. "Many visitors have been entering the park and using drones with no such permission.

The value of proper training added to on-the-job gut feel paid off for two Kruger National Park (KNP) staffers with an 11-year sentence handed to a suspected rhino poacher this month, five years after the suspect was apprehended. KNP dog handlers stationed at the park’s Kruger and Phabeni gates, tasked as part of what SANParks said was "a special operation" in January 2020 flagged a suspicious vehicle on a gravel road linking Skukuza and Pretoriuskop. The driver ignored the stop request with Kruger personnel in a short-lived chase.

The Namibian Police's regional commander in Oshana, commissioner Lungameni Sackaria, says poaching activities have reduced drastically since he took over the 'Yesa Ongava' anti-poaching operation in Etosha National Park. Sackaria on Thursday said police officers stationed in the national park have been working tirelessly to combat poaching activities with strong coordination among the police force. He said since taking over the reins of the operation, poaching incidents in Etosha National Park have decreased from 30 to eight incidents recorded only.

Number of smuggling cases involving ivory, pangolin scales and rhino horn has 'dropped significantly' since 2021, government says. Hong Kong has seen no "significant seizures" of smuggled ivory and pangolin scales since 2021, the government has said, attributing it to heavier penalties while animal rights groups pointed to international efforts in tackling the illegal wildlife trade as also helping.

Pretoria - In a significant victory against rhino trafficking and wildlife related cases, a 54-year old wanted fugitive Zimbabwean national, Thomas Chauke, also known as Sazu Nkambuya has been convicted and sentenced to 110 years' imprisonment. This follows a meticulous and extensive investigation by the detectives attached to the SAPS Head Office, Stock Theft and Endangered Species (STES) which led to successful conviction and sentencing of Chauke on six counts of rhino poaching and wildlife related cases, and three counts of escaping from lawful custody.

Two Zimbabwean nationals and their South African accomplice have each been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to a foiled rhino poaching operation in South Africa’s Limpopo province. The trio - Kholwani Mwembe (40) and Emmanuel Marombedze (36), both Zimbabwean, and Stephen Tshoeu (49), a South African - were arrested in March 2024 in the Steilloop following a joint sting operation involving police, SANParks officials and private security personnel.

Two Zimbabwean men and their South African associate have each been sentenced to five years in prison after being arrested while attempting to poach a rhino in South Africa's Limpopo province. The trio - Kholwani Mwembe (40) and Emmanuel Marombedze (36), both Zimbabweans, along with Stephen Tshoeu (49), a South African - were apprehended in March last year in the Steilloop area. Security officials recovered a firearm, ammunition, and a knife during the operation.

In just the first month after South Africa launched its aerial drone program in the iconic Kruger Park, 55 potential poachers were caught sneaking into the park. When I was just 11 years old, my South African-born father took me to Kruger Park for the first time… and I was hooked. Hooked on wildlife and hooked on Africa. Kruger boasts lions and elephants, Cape buffaloes and zebras, and much more.

In January 2021, Nigeria seized pangolin scales and tusks and bones from endangered species hidden in a container of furniture materials. The seized materials are used in traditional Chinese medicine despite having no medicinal value. Studies have suggested that pangolins, the most-smuggled animals in the world, may have been an intermediate host of the coronavirus that was discovered in an outdoor farmers market in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. Customs officials said the contraband consisted of 162 sacks of pangolin scales and 57 sacks of mixed animal parts, including ivory and…

Seven new wildlife crime cases have been reported recently, while 21 suspects were arrested. Seven suspects were arrested with regards to rhino poaching or trafficking cases and six were arrested for elephant poaching or trafficking. At Oshikango, two Namibians and three Angolan nationals were arrested on 5 December for being in the possession of a pangolin skin. In another incident at Okakarara, five Namibians were arrested on 5 December for conspiring to hunt a rhino.

The US on Monday announced visa restrictions on eight DR Congo nationals involved in wildlife trafficking, in the latest whip on supposed illegal revenues fuelling conflict in the central African nation. The eight people, believed to be connected business and political players in the country, are accused of having a hand in trafficking of ivory, pangolin scales and rhino horn; products of endangered species.

The department of forestry, fisheries and the environment has confirmed that 24 rhinos carcasses have been found in South Africa since the beginning of December.

Am vergangen Sonntag wurden zwei Verdächtige festgenommen, die im Oktober 2020 ein Nashorn gewildert haben sollen. Das geht aus einem Bericht des Umweltministeriums hervor. Den beiden Männern wird vorgeworfen, ein unter Artenschutz stehendes Nashorn gejagt, getötet sowie den Kadaver verkauft zu haben. Darüber hinaus wurden in der letzten Woche sechs weitere neue Fälle in Verbindung mit Wildtierkriminalität bekannt. Insgesamt 21 Personen wurden festgenommen. Darunter fallen eine Vielzahl an Personen, die im illegalen Besitz von Wildtierprodukten waren und damit Handel betrieben…

Cape Town - Four suspects were arrested by police for the poaching of five rhinos at a private game reserve. Police spokesperson Wesley Twiggs said the four arrested suspects were expected to appear in Ceres Magistrate’s Court after they have been charged. Five rhinos were attacked by poachers at Inverdoorn Private Game Reserve just outside Cape Town last week. Four of the rhinos were killed while the fifth rhino survived a gunshot to the face.

The South African National Parks (SANParks) warned people on Saturday about a video circulating on social media depicting a "severely injured White Rhino cow", saying it was "distressing to watch". In a statement, SANParks said that its rhino dehorning team made the gruesome discovery of a badly mutilated female rhino in the South of the Kruger National Park (KNP) on Thursday. "According to the SANParks Veterinarian and the Section Ranger who attended to the rhino, it appeared as if the animal had been shot a few days prior to being found.

Inverdoorn Private Game Reserve - Searl Derman, owner of Inverdoorn Private Game Reserve, just outside of Cape Town in the Western Cape, South Africa, and his management and staff are left traumatised after four rhinos, (including one pregnant female) were found massacred last night (Wednesday 08 December 2021). At approximately 22h30 the 24 hour Anti-Poaching Unit raised the alarm as they found the horrific scene of four shot rhino while on their regular patrols.

Four rhino have been killed at a game reserve just outside of Cape Town. Management at the Inverdoorn private game reserve said that an anti-poaching unit found the four rhino while on their regular patrols. One of the four was pregnant. A fifth rhino was wounded and is recovering.

A rhino horn trader has been sentenced to 14 years in jail, the longest ever prison term a Vietnamese court has handed down for the crime, a local conservation group said on Wednesday. Vietnam is both a consumption hub and popular transit point for the multi-billion-dollar trade in animal parts. Authorities have long vowed to stem the flow of illegal wildlife crisis-crossing its borders, but experts have warned the black market persists thanks to weak law enforcement.

One of the seven Chinese nationals who slipped out of the country while on bail after being arraigned on charges of money laundering and possession of more than 20 kilogrammes of rhino horns has been arrested by the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) in the United Arab Emirates after spending over two years on the run.

The continued refusal by the government of Botswana to allow game rangers to carry firearms, coupled with the country's secrecy on poaching statistics and other wildlife data, is baffling conservationists. On 25 September, as Botswana marked a belated World Rhino Day, former president Ian Khama - a renowned wildlife conservationist - took to his Facebook page to share his thoughts.

South Africa is no stranger to wildlife crime as shown in Operation Thunder, an Interpol-led effort against environmental crime in the broadest sense of the words. The worldwide enforcement operation against wildlife and timber crime co-ordinated by Interpol and the World Customs Organisation (WCO) disrupted crime networks and saw hundreds of arrests internationally, the France-headquartered policing body said.