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Wildlife crime remains an international conservation management issue that threatens ecotourism, ecological balance and biodiversity. The industry of illegal hunting and trade in wildlife and wildlife products is estimated to be worth US$50-US$150 billion per annum, according to the United Nations Environment Programme, and continues to pose a threat towards globally-endangered wildlife species. The escalation of wildlife crime also threatens national and local economies, the criminal justice and security systems, and public health.

A case in which two Kunene conservancies, a traditional authority and a tourism company tried to get a court order to stop mining activities and the construction of a road in their area is not urgent, a judge ruled in the Windhoek High Court on Friday. Judge Orben Sibeya ruled that an application filed by the Doro !Nawas and Ûibasen Twyfelfontein conservancies, the ≠Aodaman Traditional Authority and the company, Ultimate Safaris, two weeks ago does not meet the requirements to be heard as an urgent matter.

Two former Kruger National Park field rangers were sentenced to 20 years' direct imprisonment each for rhino poaching. The Skukuza Regional Court secured the win for this near-extinct species on Friday, September 27, when it handed down sentences to Lucky Mkanzi (30) and Nzima Joel Sihlangu (32).

"White rhino populations in South Africa are on the rise despite poaching," the report says. Curiously, the report does not mention private ownership of the species, which has been one of the driving forces behind this trend. The report notes that by 2012, there were more than 21,000 white rhinos on the planet, capping a remarkable comeback from the brink of extinction. A century earlier, there were fewer than 100.

Two communal conservation areas near Khorixas feel betrayed by the decision of the environment ministry to allow mining activities in a joint management area where rhinos are threatened. The conservation areas of Doro ! Nawas and Ûibasen Twyfelfontein recently succeeded in obtaining a court order to stop road construction activities related to mining claims within their nuclear rhino conservation area.

According to the International Rhino Foundation, the largest population of rhinos in the world is found in South Africa. Only 16 056 rhinos are left in South Africa, but not nearly enough to save the species from endangerment. 'World Rhino Day' is commemorated annually on September 22 to continue to raise awareness about rhino poaching across the globe. Due to ongoing poaching, the number of rhinos continues to get lower. KwaZulu-Natal has the highest number of poaching cases with 145 rhinos poached from January to June this year alone.

Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Narend Singh, says he believes that dehorning rhinos is not necessarily the answer to the poaching problem. Singh has expressed his concerns about continued rhino poaching in the country. This comes as the globe marked World Rhino Day yesterday. The day highlights the global effort to protect and raise awareness about rhino conservation and the threats they face. Singh says more can still be done.

A black rhino bull was poached from a farm in the Otavi district of the Otjozondjupa region between last Monday and Saturday. According to the Namibian police's weekly crime report, the carcass of the rhinoceros was discovered with the horns removed from the bull.

The Doro ! Nawas and Ûibasen Twyfelfontein recently obtained a court order to halt road construction work for planned mining operations to protect rhinos in their area. They are supported by the traditional authority Aodaman and Ultimate Safaris, a tourism partner, in their lawsuit against mining entrepreneurs Ottillie Ndimulunde and Timoteus Mashuna. The lawsuit is also directed against the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Mines, the Commissioner for the Environment and the Commissioner for Mines.

In Namibia, despite famed conservation efforts, close to 300 rhinos have been poached over the past 4 years (2020 to 2023), according to wildlife reports from the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.

On Monday, Khorixas pensioner Leonard Hoaeb contacted Namibian Sun to complain about a social media post the newspaper published pertaining to Ultimate Safaris, the Doro-Nawas and Uibasen-Twyfelfontein conservancies and the #Aodanam Traditional Authority appearing in court to fight the projects. "Ultimate Safaris is making millions from this area but we, the community, are getting nothing. They have 28 employees, while the mine will employ 140 employees in the first phase. Why can’t they co-exist?” he wanted to know.

In the latest case, people living around the arid northern community of Khorixas looked out one morning last month to find a new road being bulldozed through an area they had been managing, together with the tourism company Ultimate Safaris and the nonprofit Save The Rhinos Trust, as habitat for black rhinos, an endangered species. The conservancies, together with the tourism company, went to court, alleging that the road, and mining project it will serve, showed up on the scene "without any consultation" with them.

Mining operations will pose a direct threat to critically endangered black rhinos in an area south-west of Khorixas. This is detailed in an urgent application filed at the Windhoek High Court by two communal conservancies, a traditional authority and a tourism operator. Black rhinos in the area will be under increased threat of poaching or migrate out of the area if plans to start mining operations go ahead, the Doro !Nawas and Ûibasen Twyfelfontein conservancies, the ≠Aodaman Traditional Authority and the company Ultimate Safaris claimed in an urgent application filed on Friday…

Some of the rhinos at Addo Elephant National Park are now collared with Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to secure their safety. This is a first-of-its-kind intervention at the Park. Smart algorithms continuously monitor the rhino's behaviour and in the event of an incident, an alert is generated that pinpoints the rhino's location via GPS. This enables the effective, real-time investigation of possible poaching incidents. Behaviours that can be tracked include fighting, mating, giving birth and death.

Three Botswana citizens who after they were found guilty, admitted in an appeal application hearing on Wednesday, 24 April, in the High Court in Kimberley that they illegally crossed the border with illegal ammunition to illegally hunt rhinos on a Northern Cape farm. An accomplice of theirs died in a shootout with the farm workers and game rangers. In March, acting judge Cordelia Kgopa found they must have foreseen that someone would die during their raid and found them guilty of the murder of K.J. Matshetse, their accomplice. He died in the crossfire.

A staggering 499 rhinos were killed by poachers in South Africa in 2023, an MENU increase of 51 on the poaching numbers for 2022. This disappointing figure is a chilling reminder that the South African government and wildlife authorities have not got poaching under control. Barbara Creecy, the minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment (DFFE), said when releasing the annual poaching figures that poaching had dropped in Kruger National Park, previously the focal point of rhino crime.

A staggering 499 rhinos were killed by poachers in South Africa in 2023, an increase of 51 on the poaching numbers for 2022. This disappointing figure is a chilling reminder that the South African government and wildlife authorities have not got poaching under control. Barbara Creecy, the minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment (DFFE), said when releasing the annual poaching figures that poaching had dropped in Kruger National Park, previously the focal point of rhino crime.

Environmentalists in Namibia have accused local wildlife officials of hiding the real extent of rhino poaching in the Etosha National Park, which holds the highest concentration of black rhinos in the world. The Ministry of Environment recently acknowledged that rhino killings at the park quadrupled during the first quarter of 2024. Namibian police apprehended two suspects Sunday for the killing of an adult female black rhino and a medium-sized male calf black rhino at the park's waterhole earlier that day.

The Anti-poaching unit of the Environment Ministry, together with other law enforcement agencies, has arrested two suspected poachers and is tracking four others who are suspected to be moving in the area between Omuthiya and Oshivelo in the Oshikoto Region. This follows after two rhino carcasses were discovered in the Etosha National Park recently. Four rhino horns and firearms were confiscated when two suspects, aged 31 and 44, were arrested on Sunday.

A total of 707 suspects have been arrested in connection with rhino poaching between January 2023 and March of this year. Currently, 589 suspects are in custody awaiting trial, 91 suspects have been convicted, 21 are out on bail, five have been released, two were acquitted, and one suspect has died. Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta provided these statistics during his budget motivation for the 2024-2025 financial year.

Private Nashornbesitzer fürchten, dass Namibia den Kampf gegen die Wilderei verliert – während die Regierung nicht genug beisteuert. "Wir kämpfen einen Krieg, den wir nicht gewinnen werden", sagte ein empörter Nashornbesitzer, der seine Breitmaulnashörner an Wilderer verloren hat, gegenüber Namibia Media Holdings (NMH). Zuvor hatte das Umweltministerium schockiert mitgeteilt, dass in den ersten drei Monaten des Jahres 28 Nashörner in Namibia gewildert wurden. "Zwei Drittel meiner Nashornpopulation sind verschwunden!

Tierärzte haben einem Nashorn eine Drahtschlinge aus dem Bein operiert. Ein schon älteres und ziemlich großes Nashorn auf einer Farm im Süden Namibias mit einer alten und teilweise verheilten Wunde am linken Hinterbein fing wieder an zu humpeln. Tierärzte stellten fest, dass der Dickhäuter seit Jahren eine Drahtschlinge, wie sie Wilderer gebrauchen, in ihrem unteren Bein verwachsen mit sich herumschleppte. Die Nashornkuh war damals wohl den Wilddieben entkommen und die Wunde verheilte, indem sich Gewebe um die Drahtschlinge bildete.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has recorded 28 cases of rhino poaching in Namibia this year so far. Out of these 28 cases, 19 rhinos were poached in the Etosha National Park, and 10 carcasses of the animals were discovered during dehorning operations in March. The Ministry’s spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda, has expressed concern about the poaching situation in the Etosha National Park, which is a flagship tourist attraction in Namibia. The park has a high number of rhinos and other wildlife species.

'n Dringende hoëvlak-vergadering tussen die ministerie van omgewing, bosbou en toerisme en sekuriteitsgroepe is belê nadat 28 renosters in die eerste drie maande van die jaar in Namibië gestroop is. Uit die 28 renosters is 19 in die Etosha Nasionale Park gestroop. Volgens die ministerie se woordvoerder Romeo Muyunda is tien van die 19 gestroopte renosters in die park verlede maand tydens onthoringsoperasies ontdek.

Five suspects in Limpopo have been arrested for rhino poaching and illegal trades if elephant tusks. According to Sowetan Live, Col Malesela Ledwaba, police spokesperson, stated that the men were apprehended by the endangered species unit and wildlife security on Thursday. The five men who four of them are reported to be foreigners and one South African are expected to appear at the Letsitele and Maake magistrates’ court.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism has reported a distressing surge in rhino poaching incidents, with 28 rhinos poached in the country so far this year. Of particular concern is the discovery of 19 poached rhinos within the iconic Etosha National Park, 10 found during dehorning operations throughout March. Ministerial spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda said in a statement. Muyunda said the recent spate of poaching threatens not only the rhino population but also the integrity of this vital tourism attraction.

Namibian authorities are investigating a surge in rhino poaching that has seen 28 rhinos poached already this year, two-thirds of them in the Southern African country's flagship Etosha National Park. It was particularly concerning that 19 rhinos were poached in Etosha this year, given the park is a focus for conservation efforts and a major international tourist attraction, the environment ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has recorded 28 rhinos poached in Namibia from January to date. This was announced yesterday in a media statement by ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda. “It is concerning to note that 19 were poached in Etosha National Park, of which 10 were discovered during dehorning operations throughout the month of March,” he said.