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For the second time in a week, Angolan authorities arrested two Vietnamese nationals on suspicion of illegal poaching and wildlife trafficking, preventing them from leaving the country with over 46 kilograms of elephant ivory, teeth and rhinoceros horns, reports Novo Jornal. The two individuals raised suspicions during check-in, leading authorities to track their movements through Luanda 4 de Fevereiro International Airport using CCTV surveillance.

The General Tax Administration (AGT) seized more than 500 pieces of rhinoceros horns and elephant teeth at the 4 de Fevereiro International Airport in Luanda, camouflaged inside three suitcases that were bound for Vietnam.

At a smugglers' "den" near the Lebombo post between South Africa and Mozambique, a former rhino horn smuggler described how border officials receive bribes to ensure safe passage for illicit goods. "If you know the right police manning the border crossing, no problems are encountered. Money talks," he said. Atanasio* said he currently works as a mechanic in the border area and manages a drug-smuggling operation. He has multiple identities and has gone undetected by law enforcement agencies.

Dr Dion George, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, welcomes the sentencing of Silas Mathebula, a 38-year-old Mozambican national, to 30 years in prison by the Skukuza Regional Court for his role in the illegal killing of three rhinos and related offences in the Kruger National Park in 2019. The Minister views this significant sentence as a clear indication that poaching and wildlife crime will not be tolerated in South Africa, and that those who threaten the nation’s natural heritage will face the full might of the law.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Zambia on Thursday expressed deep concern over the resurgence of rhino poaching in the southern African country. The concern followed the killing of a three-year-old white rhino by poachers in Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park on March 11, who fled with its horns. This incident came after two rhinos were killed last year at a ranch in the southern district of Kazungula. WWF Zambia Country Director Nalucha Nganga-Ziba described the recent rhino killing as a major setback in the country's ongoing efforts to restore its rhino population.

The Ministry of Tourism has offered an undisclosed reward to anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of poachers who killed a White Rhino in Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, Livingstone, on Tuesday. In a statement, Ministry of Tourism Principal Public Relations Officer Nelly Banda, through the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), revealed that the incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday between 02:00 and 03:00 hours.

The Skukuza Regional Court sentenced Silas Mathebula (38), a Mozambican national, to 30 years behind bars on March 10 for poaching-related offences committed in 2019. According to a provincial National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa, Mathebula was convicted on multiple charges, including trespassing, conspiracy to commit a crime, killing three rhinos, possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of an unlicensed firearm, and possession of a hunting rifle and ammunition.

South Africa continues to see a downward trend in rhino poaching, with the 2024 statistics showing that 499 rhinos were poached in 2023, compared to 420 last year - a decrease of 79. "As we intensify the fight against wildlife poaching, it is encouraging to see that the work of the rangers, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and other key role players is steadily gaining momentum," the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, said on Thursday.

South Africa continues to see a downward trend in rhino poaching, with the 2024 statistics showing that 499 rhinos were poached in 2023, compared to 420 last year: a decrease of 79. "As we intensify the fight against wildlife poaching, it is encouraging to see that the work of the rangers, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and other key role players is steadily gaining momentum," the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, said on Thursday.

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) has opposed a proposed mining project targeting the Sinamatella Black Rhino Intensive Protection Zone in Hwange National Park. ZimParks has called on the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development to reject such applications. The Authority's spokesperson, Mr Tinashe Farawo said allowing mining in the ecologically sensitive area will pose a threat to the endangered black rhino population, disrupt wildlife habitats and undermine Zimbabwe's reputation as a leader in sustainable conservation.

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…

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.