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The trial is set to begin this September, close to three years after the 50 pieces of horns were seized not far from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The men sprung a surprise in court today when they opted for a trial. It was a reversal of the guilty plea they had recorded at an earlier court appearance last month. Media and conservation groups gathered at court on Wednesday (24 April) had expected a penalty to be given to the two men.

The Special Wildlife Office of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has intercepted a 40-foot container of illegal wildlife products in Vietnam. Three suspects were also arrested in connection with the crime, barely six weeks after a similar seizure by Vietnam authorities. The Nigeria Customs Service, in a statement made available to newsmen, and signed by Asst. Comptroller Abimbola Isafiade, said the operation was conducted by the combined efforts of the officers of the Federal Operations Unit, FOU, Zone C, in a joint enforcement operation with the Wildlife Justice Commission, WJC…

Trotz Bemühungen um Eindämmung des Handels mit bedrohten Tierarten wie Elefanten geht der illegale Handel mit Wildtieren weltweit unvermindert weiter. Dies geht aus dem einem Bericht des Büros der Vereinten Nationen für Drogen- und Verbrechensbekämpfung (UNODC) hervor, der eine Bestandsaufnahme der weltweiten Anti-Wilderei- Maßnahmen enthält.

Despite progress to curtail the trafficking of iconic species such as elephants, illegal wildlife trafficking continues unabated on a global scale. This is according to the 2024 World Wildlife Crime Report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which takes stock of efforts to counter poaching worldwide. The report highlights that wildlife trafficking has not seen a significant enough decrease over the past two decades, prompting a call for enhanced enforcement of existing laws, including measures to combat corruption.

The Nigeria Customs Service Special Wildlife Office, over the weekend, announced the arrest of a Shipper and supplier responsible for the illegal exportation of a 40ft container of illegal Wildlife to Vietnam. It was gathered that the illegal wildlife products were intercepted and reported in Vietnam in April 2024 while the arrest of the suspects was made by the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC) and the enforcement officers of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone C, Owerri, Imo state.

The suspects involved in the poaching of a white rhinoceros bull on a farm in the Gobabis district remain in custody. According to the spokesperson of the Namibian police, Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi, the suspects have already appeared in the magistrate's courts of Gobabis and Katutura in Windhoek over the past weekend. The names of the suspects as provided by Shikwambi are Micheal Shomeya Koshondatile (39), Barnabas Shitaleni Muzanime (35), 31-year-old Petrus Petrus Nghifindaka, Victory Henghono (also 31), and 34-year-old Imanuel Stafanus Nangwasha.

Die beskuldigdes wat die afgelope naweek betrokke was by die stropery van ‘n witrenosterbul op 'n plaas in die Gobabis-distrik, bly in aanhouding. Volgens die hoofwoordvoerder van die Namibiese polisie, adjunk-kommissaris Kauna Shikwambi, het die beskuldigdes reeds in die landdroshowe van Gobabis en Katutura in Windhoek verskyn. Die name van die beskuldigdes soos verskaf deur Shikwambi is Micheal Shomeya Koshondatile (39), Barnabas Shitaleni Muzanime (35), die 31-jarige Petrus Petrus Nghifindaka, Victory Henghono (ook 31) en die 34-jarige Imanuel Stafanus Nangwasha.

Namibia's precious wildlife is under threat from criminals, as illegal wildlife trade has become the world's fourth-largest form of transnational crime. This was said by Ana Beatriz Martins, the European Union's ambassador to Namibia, at a press debriefing for 'Operation Saving Wildlife through Multilateral Cooperation in Africa' (Sama) in Windhoek yesterday. She said dozens of wildlife species have been pushed ever closer to extinction by habitat loss and illegal trade.

'n Karkas van 'n groot witrenosterbul is Sondagoggend op 'n plaas in die Gobabis-distrik ontdek wat

Two suspected poachers were shot to death in an exchange of fire with members of the anti-poaching unit in the Etosha National Park on Wednesday. The incident occurred at the Scorpionbelt, Western Zone, when a patrol of the anti-poaching unit observed shoeprints that had entered the park through the park's fence. According to the police, the suspects' tracks were pursued for a distance of 60 km up to a water point where Rhinos mostly feed on small shrubs.

According to Zimparks statistics that were released to this publication, there is a significant increase in the number of foreigners that have been arrested for poaching this year. In the first half of 2023, 10 foreigners were arrested for poaching in Zimbabwe compared to six who were nabbed through out 2022. One hundred and eighty two locals were arrested for poaching in the first half of this year while in 2022, 644 Zimbabweans were charged for illegal hunting. Zimparks, a statutory body responsible for managing the country's wildlife population, said elephants…

Assets and goods seized and forfeited to the state during the finalisation of wildlife crime cases at special courts last year were valued at more than N$4 million. The seized items included illegal wildlife products, firearms and vehicles used in wildlife crimes. According to the Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement Report in Namibia, the judicial system faces a range of challenges in dealing with high rates of crime and ensuring justice is served; a central hurdle is a growing backlog of cases on the court rolls. "This has…

Johannesburg - The Wildlife Justice Commission has heralded the conviction of four for the trafficking of pangolin scales and ivory as a "ground-breaking" move that has laid bare the modus operandi of the criminal networks trafficking wildlife commodities. The commission made the announcement following the conclusion of the trial against three Vietnamese and one Guinean national who were arrested by the Nigeria Customs Service in May 2022 for trafficking 7.1 tonnes of pangolin scales and 850 kilograms of ivory. Phan Viet Chi, Phan…

Dumisani Gwala, who was in 2014 arrested on rhino poaching charges along with coaccused Wiseman Mageba and a third, since deceased accomplice, told Mtubatuba Regional Court that his arrest and charging following a sting operation was a case of mistaken identity.

The police in the Otjozondjupa region arrested two men aged 27 and 31 for allegedly attempting to poach a Rhino at a lodge outside Otjiwarongo. The two face charges of illegal hunting of protected game and trespassing.

Na raming is 93 renosters in 2022 gestroop, vergeleke met die 47 in 2021 en 43 in 2020.

An estimated 93 rhinos were poached in 2022, compared to 47 in 2021 and 43 in 2020.

Rhinos were the most-targeted high-value species in Namibia during 2022, comprising 24% of all registered wildlife cases, with poaching losses at their highest since 2015. This according to the wildlife protection and law enforcement report for 2022, which indicated that a total of 430 wildlife cases were reported last year - of which 106 were rhino poaching cases.

The country's anti-poaching and crime prevention initiatives managed to arrest 75 suspects in 106 cases related to rhino poaching in Namibia in 2022, a report released last week noted. The year 2022 saw the most rhinos poached in the country since 2015 when the first major poaching wave in independent Namibia peaked, the National Report on Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement in Namibia revealed. The released report is based on data compiled via the Integrated Database of Wildlife Crime in Namibia, as well as related firsthand information and observations by…

Die Initiativen zur Bekämpfung der Wilderei konnten laut einem kürzlich veröffentlichten Bericht 75 Verdächtige in 106 Fällen von Nashornwilderei im Jahr 2022 festnehmen. Im gleichen Jahr wurden landesweit so viele Nashörner gewildert wie seit 2015 nicht mehr, so der Bericht "National Report on Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement in Namibia".

Rangers at South African game reserves have been implicated in supplying information to rhino poachers. This is one of the forms of corruption that the Wildlife Justice Commission says is fueling wildlife crime. However, SANParks says it is implementing measures to reduce corruption, including a polygraph testing system.

A third suspect has been arrested in Rustenburg, in the North West, for the theft of 51 rhino horns from the offices of the North West Parks and Tourism in Mahikeng last month. The SABC reported at the time that the alleged criminals evaded all security on the premises and took the keys to the safe, from which they stole the horns worth R9 million. Spokesperson for the Hawks in the province, Lieutenant Colonel Tinyiko Mathebula, says, "The suspect is due to appear in the Mahikeng Magistrates’ Court on Monday, where he will be facing a business burglary charge."

Namibia's anti-poaching and crime prevention initiatives managed to apprehend 75 suspects in 106 cases related to rhinoceros poaching in Namibia during 2022, according to a report released Friday. The year 2022 saw the most rhinoceros poached in the country since 2015 when the first major poaching wave in independent Namibia peaked, the National Report on Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement in Namibia revealed. The report is based on data compiled via the Integrated Database of Wildlife Crime in Namibia, as well as related firsthand information and observations by…

This was during his second appearance in the Lenyenye Regional Court after he was arrested in May. Nyalungu’s defence team requested that he be transferred to a Polokwane correctional facility due to difficulty to obtain his chronic medication in Thohoyandou where he was in custody until then. The court agreed and Joseph has been moved to Polokwane. Nyalunga was arrested on Saturday, May 27 in Kampersrus after a car chase involving the police. He allegedly has a long history of poaching and was first arrested in 2011 after being on police’s radar for several months.

The Wildlife Justice Commission has published details of a rhino horn trafficking case that includes the use of frozen seafood and 'mishandled baggage', as well as the failure of authorities not to publicly report their seizure of the horn. 

Excellent collaboration between police and security officers from a private game reserve resulted in the swift arrest of two suspects, as well as the confiscation of poaching equipment early on Friday morning 7 July. According to Col Priscilla Naidu, police spokesperson, it is alleged that at about 06:00, Port Alfred K9 members and the security officials stopped a vehicle on the R67 at Koonaprivier between Makhanda and Fort Beaufort.

Self-proclaimed prophet and founder of the House of Joy Ministries Jackson Babi has turned to the High Court to appeal his 27 years imprisonment sentence for rhino poaching in Gobabis. In his notice of appeal, filed in the Windhoek High Court on Monday, Babi (33) is claiming the sentence of 27 years imprisonment imposed on him by Gobabis Regional Court magistrate Eden Iyambo is shockingly inappropriate. He claims Iyambo overemphasised the seriousness of the offences at the expense of the mitigating circumstances.

The Hawks have arrested a second suspect allegedly linked to the stockpile hit at the North West Parks Board headquarters in Mafikeng last week. According to a Daily Maverick source, the suspect was apprehended in a planned operation near Brits at about 9pm on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning the arrest was confirmed by a senior SAPS officer who did not want to be identified.

It was successful day for multi-task team of detectives from the Endangered Species Unit, SANParks, Focused Conservation Solutions, Hoedspruit SAPS, and Hoedspruit Farm Watch when they made a breakthrough arresting five suspects for rhino poaching.

The number of endangered rhinos poached in Namibia last year was the highest on record and almost twice as many as the year before, officials say. A total of 87 rhinos were killed compared with 45 in 2021, official government data show. Most were poached in Etosha, Namibia's biggest national park, officials say. Rhino numbers in Africa have dropped significantly in recent decades to feed demand for rhino horn in China and Vietnam.

South Africa's national parks have put in place various measures to combat rhino poaching which threatens the existence of the endangered animal. Isaac Phaahla, media specialist for South African National Parks, a leading conservation authority in the country, said they have been constantly revising their strategies to fight poachers, who keep changing their tactics.

A poacher from Mozambique has been convicted and sentenced to 22 years in prison for killing two rhinos in the Kruger National Park.

The Hawks have arrested a man in connection with the theft of 51 rhino horns. The horns were stolen from a stockpile in the North West. The man is expected to appear in court on Monday to face a charge of business robbery.

Fifty rhino horns stolen from a stockpile in the North West will likely leave South Africa as beads, mugs, or souvenirs, experts have said. The stockpile was stolen in the early hours of Monday morning from the North West Parks and Tourism Board in Mahikeng. Reports suggest the robbers evaded security measures, alarms, security cameras and bypassed the locking mechanism of the vault. Experts have speculated that the rhino horns may already be on their way to Asian markets, based on insights into how wildlife crime syndicates operate.

Kenya will enhance partnerships with neighboring countries and regional blocs in a bid to protect abundant natural resources like wildlife from the clutches of organized crime, an official has said.