This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:
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.
Explore your search results using the filter checkboxes, or amend your search or start a new search.
Another two rhinos have paid the ultimate price as a result of ongoing poaching.The circumstances surrounding the poaching of two rhinos on a Limpopo farm are being investigated by the Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit. Rooiberg police, in the Waterberg District, have launched a manhunt for unknown perpetrators involved in the poaching of two rhinos on Pomo Estate.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_10_Graphic photos_Rhinos shot and killed on Limpopo farm_Caxton News.pdf | 210.45 KB |
Rhino populations in Kruger National Park continue to decline despite innovative strategies implemented to prevent rhino poaching. The latest population count, reported in the SANParks Annual Report 2022/2023, reveals that the total rhino population has declined by 16.2%, from an estimated 2,458 rhinos in 2021 to 2,060 in 2022.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_10_Kruger rhino population update_the losses continue_Africa Geographic.pdf | 1.07 MB |
The defence attorney in the case against a former police officer accused of being a rhino poaching kingpin has disputed that their client has 12 pending cases.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_10_Alleged rhino kingpins defence disputes charges against the accused_SABC News.pdf | 391.96 KB |
Die ministerie van die omgewing, bosbou en toerisme het vonnisse van minstens 13 jaar tronkstraf elk vir vier renosterstropers verwelkom. Die vonnisse is onlangs in die Windhoek-streekhof opgelê.
The Ministry of the Environment, Forestry and Tourism has welcomed sentences of at least 13 years in prison each for four rhino poachers. The sentences were handed down recently in the Windhoek Regional Court.
Despite declining national rhino poaching statistics, KwaZulu-Natal is becoming a new hotspot for these illegal activities.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_23023_10_KwaZulu_Natal becomes new hotspot for rhino poaching_CityPress.pdf | 261.01 KB |
The environment ministry has welcomed sentences of at least 13 years in prison each for four rhino poachers. The sentences were handed down in the Windhoek Regional Court last week. Former Brave Warriors chiropractor Gerson Kandjii (51) was also involved in the case, but died in custody in 2021. The arrests stem from an incident in December 2016, when four white rhinos were poached on a private farm in the Gobabis district. On 22 December 2016, the suspects, allegedly without a hunting permit, killed four white rhinos - two…
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2023_10_Co_accused in Kandjii poaching case get years behind bars_Namibian Sun.pdf | 344.63 KB |
A high-speed chase forced three suspects to abandon their vehicle, rhino horn, communications tower battery, silencer, firearm and ammunition while evading arrest. They were intercepted by Volksrust, Mpumalanga, police conducting a stop and search operation at 10pm in Mandela Drive on Monday, police said.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_10_Rhino horn traffickers foiled_TimesLive.pdf | 233.67 KB |
Zwei der Justizvollzugsbeamten, die wegen des Verdachts, an der Flucht des chinesischen Nashornschmugglers Wang Hui beteiligt gewesen und deshalb suspendiert worden waren, wurden für schuldig befunden. Ihnen wurde eine Geldstrafe auferlegt.
Two correctional officers who were suspended on suspicion of being involved in the escape of Chinese rhino smuggler Wang Hui have been found guilty. They were fined.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2023_10_Waerter bekommen Geldstrafe_Allgemeine Zeitung.pdf | 331.03 KB |
NAM_2023_10_Guards get fines_Allgemeine Zeitung_Eng.pdf | 275.54 KB |
Rhino Dehorning Debate Intensifies as Poaching Continues in Hluhluwe/iMfolozi Game Reserve. In the midst of an escalating rhino poaching crisis at the Hluhluwe/iMfolozi (HiP) game reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, a contentious debate has arisen over whether dehorning rhinos is an effective strategy to protect them. While some argue that dehorning could deter poachers, others express concerns about its effectiveness and potential consequences. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, responsible for overseeing the park, has voiced reluctance regarding the dehorning approach.
Two correctional officers who were suspended after the escape of Chinese rhino-horn smuggler Wang Hui have been found guilty by an internal disciplinary process. Deputy Commissioner-General Mariana Martin of the Namibian Correctional Service (NCS) told Namibian Sun that based on an investigation, three officers were suspended after Wang's escape. "All three correctional officers suspended were eventually charged, with at present two found guilty of misconduct under the Correctional Service Act."
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2023_10_Prison wardens fined for chinese inmates escape_Namibian Sun.pdf | 354.82 KB |
Richter Johannes Shuuveni verurteilte vier Nashornwilderer am 18. September zu jeweils 13 Jahren Haft.
Judge Johannes Shuuveni sentenced four rhino poachers to 13 years in prison on September 18th.
Since 2020, snaring has tripled in the crown jewels of South Africa's Big Five reserves. This suggests economic hardship, although it is not the sole factor to blame. Responding to questions by the Democratic Alliance’s Hannah Winkler on the park’s snaring trends, Environment Minister Barbara Creecy reported the removal of thousands of snares: In 2020, 2,407 snares were removed; In 2021, 4,454 snares were removed; In 2022, 7,270 snares were removed.
Two of the correctional officers who were suspended due to the suspicion that they had a hand in the escape of the Chinese rhino horn smuggler, Wang Hui, have been found guilty.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2023_10_Prison officers guilty after smuggler escapes_Republikein_Eng.pdf | 192.95 KB |
The Windhoek Magistrate Court has handed down prison sentences of up to 15 years to four individuals involved in a heinous rhino poaching case. The culprits were found guilty for their involvement in a poaching incident dating back to December 2016, where four white rhinos were ruthlessly killed on a private farm in the Gobabis District. On 22 December 2016, the suspects allegedly, without a hunting permit, killed four white rhinos - two bulls and two pregnant cows - each valued at N$1.25 million, with a total value…
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2023_10_Poachers sentenced to 15 years_Windhoek Observer.pdf | 284.34 KB |
However, the park's key strategy to combat poaching has been to dehorn its entire rhino population - with great success. The Pilanesberg has had no poaching incidents in the three years since 2020.
An alleged rhino poacher has been sentenced to 30 years behind bars for killing three rhinos at Kruger National Park in Skukuza. Sydney Sibuyi, 40, was sentenced to thirty years of direct imprisonment in the Skukuza Regional Court on Thursday for poaching-related offences.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_10_Rhino poacher handed 30 years for killing three rhinos in Kruger National Park_IOL.pdf | 122.59 KB |
Vietnamese syndicates play an outsized, sophisticated role in the illicit trade of elephant ivory, rhinoceros horn, pangolin scales, and other wildlife products, according to a recent undercover investigation by the Environmental Investigation Agency that details sourcing, packing, and transporting ivory and rhino horn through an intricate maze of transport routes out of various African ports to Malaysia, then through Laos, and finally overland into Vietnam. The numbers are staggering.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
AFR_2023_09_Vietnamese Syndicates Wiping out African Megafauna_Asia Sentinel.pdf | 374.59 KB |
R155 billion!
A Mozambican national has been sentenced to ten years behind bars for killing a rhino at Kruger National Park in Skukuza while serving another jail sentence for a similar offence. The Skukuza Regional Court has sentenced a Mozambican national, Lucky Mabunda, 47, to 10 years of direct imprisonment for killing a rhino in Skukuza National Park in 2019.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_09_Mozambican national sentenced to 10 years for killing a rhino in Kruger National Park_IOL.pdf | 324.62 KB |
Vanjaar is 39 renosters tot dusver in Namibië gestroop, vergeleke met 92 in 2022 en 50 in 2021. Die minister van die omgewing, bosbou en toerisme, Pohamba Shifeta, het hierdie syfers gedeel by die herdenking van Wêreldrenosterdag Vrydag by Okaukuejo in die Etosha Nasionale Park. By die geleentheid het die minister ook amptelik 'n perde-teenstropingseenheid van stapel gestuur. Die ministerie het altesaam 13 perde teen N$10 000 elk gekoop, met finansieringshulp van die Wildprodukte- rustfonds.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2023_09_Perde opgesaal vir renosterbewaring_Republikein.pdf | 296.52 KB |
NAM_2023_09_Horses saddled for rhino conservation_Republikein_Eng.pdf | 278.3 KB |
Namibia strengthened its anti-poaching drive by launching two rhino preservation plans and a horse patrol unit at the country's Etosha National Park on Friday. Speaking at the commemoration of World Rhino Day, which falls on 22 September every year, Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Pohamba Shifeta said the day is dedicated to raising awareness of the threats facing the rhino population, and how the world can come together to protect these endangered species.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2023_09_Namibia steps up anti_poaching efforts_New Era.pdf | 260.63 KB |
This year, 39 rhinos have been poached so far in Namibia, compared to 92 in 2022 and 50 in 2021. Tourism minister Pohamba Shifeta presented these figures at the commemoration of World Rhino Day on Friday at Okaukuejo in Etosha National Park. At the event, the minister also officially launched a horse anti-poaching unit. A total of 13 horses have been purchased by the ministry for N$10 000 each, with funding support from the Game Product Trust Fund.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2023_09_Horses roped into rhino protection fight_Namibian Sun.pdf | 456.61 KB |
The anti-poaching drive was strengthened with the recent launch of two Rhino Management plans and a horse patrol unit last week at the Etosha National Park on Friday. Speaking at the commemoration of World Rhino Day, the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT), Pohamba Shifeta said the day is dedicated to raising awareness about the threats that the rhino population is facing and how the world can come together and protect these endangered species.
Für die Erhaltung und den Schutz der Nashörner führt das Ministerium laut Pohamba daher den Einsatz einer Pferdeeinheit ein. Insgesamt 13 Pferde wurden vom Ministerium mit finanzieller
Unterstützung des "Game Product Trust Fund" für jeweils 10 000 N$ gekauft. Demnach werden
acht Pferde im Etosha-Nationalpark stationiert sein und fünf im Waterberg-Plateau-Park.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2023_09_Welt_Nashorn_Tag Begangen_Allgemeine Zeitung.pdf | 368.59 KB |
NAM_2023_09_World rhinocerous day celebrated_Allgemeine Zeitung_Eng.pdf | 348.18 KB |
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has launched a new initiative to fight against rhino poaching. Speaking at the launch of the initiative, which coincided with the commemoration of the World Rhino Day hosted at Okaukejo over the weekend, environment minister Pohamba Shifeta said Namibia has the second-largest white Rhino population in the world after South Africa and the largest population of black Rhinos in the world. However, Shifeta said that rhinos have become an endangered species, and, in some areas, they have even become extinct…
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2023_09_Environment ministry ups fights against rhino poaching_The Namibian.pdf | 130.86 KB |
South Africa has lost 231 rhinos to poaching since the beginning of the year.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_09_231 rhinos lost to poaching in SA this year_ongoing concerns on World Rhino Day_SABC News.pdf | 208.12 KB |
As the globe observes World Rhino Day, South Africa has lost 231 rhinos to poaching since the beginning of the year.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_09_Researcher highlights continuous rhino onslaught in South Africa_SABC News.pdf | 135.58 KB |
As the international community marks World Rhino Day on Friday, South Africa and other parts of the African continent are still facing the challenge of rhino poaching. The International Rhino Foundation says poachers have shifted their focus from the larger rhino populations to smaller, and possibly more susceptible ones. In South Africa, poachers are focusing on smaller areas, like the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve, which has borne the brunt of South Africa’s rhino poaching deaths in the past year. While Namibia, home to the…
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_09_Rhino poaching remains a challenge in SA and Africa_SABC News.pdf | 188.61 KB |
Campbell's death was as gruesome as the killers' previous nine known crimes. Found mutilated in a pool of blood at his home in the district of Albany, South Africa, in June 2016, Campbell had been drugged but was likely in pain before he died from his injuries. Campbell was a white rhinoceros living on a private reserve, and his killing would be the last hurrah of the now notorious Ndlovu Gang.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_09_Animal CSI_Forensics comes for the wildlife trade_Knowable Magazine.pdf | 726.24 KB |
There are around 26 000 rhinos left in the world. 68% of those live in South Africa. By far the majority of them are Southern White Rhinos, which are particularly vulnerable to poaching, because most of them are found in the open Savannah of national parks, making them easy targets. There are four other remaining species of rhino. The Black Rhino, of which there are around 6000, is found in southern and east Africa. The other African species, the Northern White Rhino, is effectively extinct, as the two remaining are both female.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_09_Rhino Poaching_Will it ever end_SABC News.pdf | 199.08 KB |
Pangolin poaching for enhanced sexual pleasure on the increase. The Commander of Botswana Defence Force, Lieutenant General Placid Segokgo, has warned that poaching will continue to be part of our lives for as long as some countries in Asia cling to their beliefs that some organs of wild animals give them sexual powers. Addressing journalists at a recent press briefing, Segokgo said, “There are some people in the East who believe that consuming or applying samples of organs such as horns, teeth, or even skins enhance their sexual…
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
BOT_2023_09_Illegal wildlife trade fuels poaching_Segokgo_TheVoiceBW.pdf | 245.59 KB |
South African National Parks (SANParks) recently introduced new measures to help combat poaching in the country's biggest national parks. Building on last year’s donation of four Bat Hawk surveillance aircraft to aid surveillance, conservation,and anti-poaching efforts in the Kruger National Park, Anglo American Platinum donated another BatHawk last week that will be going to SANParks' Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_09_SANParks make strides against rhino poaching_Southern and East African Tourism Update.pdf | 164.87 KB |
Building on last year's donation of four Bat Hawk surveillance aircraft to South African National Parks (SANParks) to aid surveillance, conservation and anti-poaching efforts in the Kruger National Park, Anglo American Platinum this morning donated another Bat Hawk that will be going to SANParks' Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape. In addition, a Bat Hawk aircraft will be donated to Mapungubwe National Park, which is located on the border of South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_09_SANParks records a 78 percent decrease in Rhino poaching_Gateway.pdf | 250.77 KB |