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Otjiwarongo - A carcass of a female black rhino was discovered with a bullet wound in the stomach, on 18 August 2023 at a waterhole inside a game farm in the Grootfontein district of the Otjozondjupa region.

A case of hunting of specially protected game without a permit is being investigated by the police in Otjozondjupa after a carcass of a female black Rhinoceros was found at a water hole.

The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) plays a vital role in countering organised wildlife crime in Namibia. With a renewed spike in rhino poaching in 2022, the FIC's role underlines the extent to which rhino poaching is driven by organised criminal gangs and the extensive criminal networks that facilitate horn trafficking. This is according to the National Namibia Wildlife Protection Report for 2022, which found that poaching and trafficking of live plants also appear to be coordinated via well-organised online platforms…

"On August 1, South Africa's Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment released an update that rhinoceros (rhino) poaching dropped 11% in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period of the previous year. Between 1 January and 30 June 2023, poaching trends also continued to show a move away from the Kruger National Park to provincial and private reserves," the report stated.

A man was arrested in the East Rand after being found in possession of a rhino horn worth an estimated R170,000. The Hawks, working in collaboration with the Benoni K9 Unit, stopped a suspicious Toyota Etios during a routine patrol along the R21 highway near Atlas Road. Upon searching the vehicle, officers discovered a 1.6-kilogram rhino horn concealed in a yellow plastic bag under the driver's seat. The driver, identified as 47-year-old Hlulani Baloyi, was arrested on the spot and subsequently appeared in the…

Durban - The IFP in KwaZulu-Natal said it was concerned about the rhino poaching incidents taking place in KZN and the Kruger National Park.

The head of the North West Parks and Tourism Board has told Parliament that the thieves who stole 51 rhino horns from its guarded facility in June must have had intimate knowledge of its security system.

Fifteen years after South Africa was hit by an unprecedented wave of rhino-horn poaching, the slaughter rate remains relentless - with one rhino shot almost every day in KwaZulu-Natal, the historic heartland of global rhino conservation. More than 60% of the rhinos killed in South Africa so far in 2023 drew their last breaths in KwaZulu-Natal as poachers continue to shift more of their deadly firepower and axes to the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, one of the world’s last strongholds of wild rhino conservation. Latest poaching …

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy briefs media regarding the Rhino situation in the parks of South Africa at SANPARKS head office in Pretori, 1 August 2023. The government said on Tuesday its world-famous Kruger park had witnessed a steady decline in rhino killings as better patrols and the onslaught it suffered in recent years pushed poachers elsewhere. The government said 42 of the park's rhinos were killed for their horns from January to June this year, almost half the numbers poached in…

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment says 231 rhinos have been killed thus far this year in South Africa. This figure is from 1 January to 30 June 2023.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.