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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 - 23 of 23
Thursday, 28 July 2022
Muchiri C 2022. Zim anti-poaching unit receives award.

"This award to the ranger team has come despite operating in the face of adversity, with the results of a positive growth population of rhino." "Under the protection of ATS, the rhino population in Save Valley Conservancy has seen a biological growth rate of 7%, this is above the 5% IUCN recommendation for game reserves protecting rhino, and maintained a poaching mortality rate of below 2%, also IUCN recommended," the WCPA statement read.

Sunday, 10 July 2022
2022. Rhino poacher nabbed near Gravelotte.

The man, who was arrested on Friday (July 8), will face charges of rhino poaching, the possession of rhino horns and the illegal possession of a firearm. Police spokesperson Motlafela Mojapelo explained in a statement that the man is one of three men suspected of rhino poaching near Gravelotte.

Sunday, 10 July 2022
2022. A Meerkat that prevents poaching in the Kruger Park.

South Africa, with its abundant wildlife, suffers from a scourge of poaching that has become a significant challenge in the country's national parks. In particular, the poaching of rhinos for their horns has increased dramatically since 2014, so SA National Parks (SANParks) sought out a system that could enable it to successfully counter this: one that could detect movement - specifically of people - in protected areas.

Saturday, 9 July 2022
2022. Eleven suspected Etosha poachers behind bars.

The environment ministry today released a statement confirming the arrest of 11 suspected poachers during the course of four law enforcement operations undertaken close to the world renowned Etosha National Park since June. Environment ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda today said the arrests, and confiscation of vehicles, cash and weapons, were the result of joint law and intelligence operations, following the discovery of 11 rhino carcasses at Etosha in June. The rhinos were all killed during poaching incidents.

Saturday, 9 July 2022
Pieterse C 2022. Four Kruger rhinos killed, three dehorned.

Three men who had allegedly poached the four rhinos and were able to dehorn three of them, appeared in the Bushbuckridge Magistrate's Court on Monday July 4.

Sunday, 3 July 2022
2022. Tourist helps nab alleged rhino poachers in the Kruger National Park.

A tourist who heard gunshots in the Kruger National Park helped rangers arrest three suspected poachers after they allegedly killed and dehorned rhinos.

Sunday, 3 July 2022
2022. Three alleged poachers arrested in the Kruger National Park.

Three alleged poachers were arrested in the Kruger National Park after allegedly killing four rhinos on Friday July 1.

Tuesday, 31 May 2022
Yusuf M 2022. Kenyan fugitive wanted for wildlife, drug trafficking arrested.

Nairobi, Kenya - One of two Kenyans wanted for alleged involvement in wildlife and drug trafficking has been arrested in a joint U.S.-Kenyan operation. The U.S. government had announced a reward for information leading to the arrest of Badru Abdul Aziz Saleh. Saleh and Ahmed were accused in the transportation, distribution and smuggling of 190 kilograms of rhinoceros horns and 10 tons of elephant ivory from different African countries.

Tuesday, 31 May 2022
Singh K 2022. KZN man gets 28-year prison sentence for poaching rhino in the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve.

Durban - A 45-year-old man convicted of rhino poaching was sentenced to 28 years in prison by the Empangeni Regional Court.

Friday, 27 May 2022
Adonis V 2022. Man arrested at OR Tambo trying to smuggle 26kg of rhino horn in his passenger luggage out of SA.

The 41-year-old man was arrested by members of the South African Police Service while trying to board a flight to Singapore. A security official at the airport alerted police to suspicious-looking items in the suspect’s hand luggage. Upon further investigation and interrogation of the suspect, police found that the suspect was carrying rhino horn weighing 26kg in his carry-on bag.

Wednesday, 25 May 2022
Luvhengo P 2022. Court hands down combined 63-year sentence to three rhino poachers.

Three men convicted on 12 charges related to rhino poaching have been sentenced to a combined 63 years in prison.

Monday, 23 May 2022
2022. Rhino poaching report recommended stronger intelligence capacity.

Durban - with the number of rhinos killed for their horns in KwaZulu-Natal Ezemvelo Wildlife reserves this year set to surpass poaching deaths for the past two years, a report has been released on what should be done to protect the endangered species. The report was compiled six years ago by a task team that investigated the scourge of rhino poaching and recommended that Ezemvelo beef up its intelligence capacity to combat the crime. It said such an investigation unit could help police and prosecutors secure convictions against those implicated in poaching.

Wednesday, 18 May 2022
2022. KZN man pleads guilty to rhino horn charges, escapes jail.

Durban: Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife has expressed disappointment after a man caught with a rhino horn without a permit, received a suspended sentence in court this week.

Wednesday, 18 May 2022
2022. DA to study elusive rhino poaching report as KZN killings soar to 108 so far this year.

Commissioned six years ago and kept under lock and key by the Office of the KZN Premier until now, the hidden report into rhino poaching in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has been partially released to the Democratic Alliance (DA) following extensive pressure. At last count, rhino poaching figures this year so far (just over four months) have surpassed the total for 2021, with 108 rhino killed by poachers for their horns which are smuggled to countries like China and Vietnam.

Monday, 16 May 2022
2022. Let's all join poaching fight.

Revelations by Centre for Environment Justice that there are between 4,000 and 6,000 active poachers in Kafue National Park alone is very distressing not only to wildlife defenders but all Zambians. What is so heart-breaking is the fact that wildlife poaching is not a new phenomenon in Zambia. It dates back to the 1950s, from which time to date over 90 percent of the country's elephants have been killed. Estimates by experts indicate that in the 1980s, elephant numbers dropped from a quarter of a million to just 18,000.

Sunday, 15 May 2022
Ontebetse K 2022. US almost absolves Botswana security agencies for spike in rhino poaching.

The United States has not decided on adopting an official position on claims that corruption within Botswana security agencies contributes to the rise of rhino poaching in the country. The US revealed this when commenting on a briefing document submitted by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) at a recent CITES' Standing Committee's 74th meeting (SC74). In its report, EIA claimed that, "corruption allegations within the agencies tasked with addressing the poaching of Botswana’s wildlife are especially concerning."

Sunday, 15 May 2022
2022. Key to the fight against rhino poaching is the 'institutional recovery' of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, says Environmental Affairs MEC.

Durban - Since the beginning of the year, 106 rhinos have already been poached according to KwaZulu-Natal Economic Development, Tourism, and Environmental Affairs (Edtea) MEC Ravi Pillay. In a statement on Saturday, Pillay said this comes after a total of 93 rhinos were poached in KZN parks in 2020 and 102 were poached last year.

Tuesday, 10 May 2022
2022. Our Viewpoint: KZN must take action against poaching.

KwaZulu-Natal is slowly turning into a poachers' paradise with everything from rhinos to pangolins and even warthogs butchered in different parts of the province. A recent parliamentary response by the KZN department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (Edtea) revealed that while 97 rhinos were poached in the province in 2021, a startling 61 rhinos were killed between January 1 and March 25 this year. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife blames budget constraints for the inadequate resources to curb this scourge.

Sunday, 8 May 2022
Head T 2022. KZN rhino poaching numbers already high for 2022.

According to Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife’s rhino poaching statistics available on the organisation’s website, a total of 99 have fallen victim to poachers this year.

Saturday, 7 May 2022
2022. Surge in rhino poaching in KZN unexplained.

Last year, 97 rhinos were poached in Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife reserves in 2021. Between January 1 and March 25 this year, 61 have been killed. According to some reports, the tally for the year so far is at least 75.

Thursday, 5 May 2022
2022. Serial rhino-poaching Van Deventer brothers finally jailed - but 'lenient' sentence slammed as 'shocking'.

Two of South Africa's most notorious rhino poachers, the Van Deventer brothers, have been convicted and sentenced in a Limpopo court after pleading guilty to a long list of charges that link them to a trail of poached rhino carcasses discovered over the 2016/17 New Year weekend.

Tuesday, 3 May 2022
Baxter J 2022. 95 Rhinos poached in Hluhluwe-uMfolozi Park so far in 2022.

On April 1 the number of rhinos poached in Hluhluwe-uMfolozi Park, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), since the 1st of January was 60. It's just one month later, and that already horrific number has shockingly jumped to 94 (actually 95, as of yesterday). Imagine how many rhinos will now not be born because of those that have been killed in Hluhluwe-uMfolozi just this year! Every rhino counts.

Sunday, 1 May 2022
van der Merwe M 2022. Disguised as coffee beans, stuffed in a geyser: How smugglers hid rhino horns at OR Tambo.

More than 30kg of rhino horn was seized from a female passenger at OR Tambo International Airport after customs officials received a tip-off. But this is by far not the biggest haul - one delivery headed for Malaysia was just shy of 170kg. SARS says more 450kg of rhino horn has been seized from would-be smugglers at OR Tambo alone since mid-2020.

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