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.
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TPO - On November 30, the Customs Sub- Department of Noi Bai International Airport (Hanoi Customs Department) said that the unit had just discovered 2 Vietnamese passengers suspected of transporting rhino horn from abroad. These two passengers traveled on flight number QR984 from Angola via Doha to Vietnam.
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VIETNAM_2024_12_Noi Bai Customs detected 2 tourists suspected of transporting rhino horn.pdf | 237.29 KB |
The minister said the court enables the swift prosecution for offenses such as wildlife trafficking, illegal logging and pollution, aligning with national and international efforts to safeguard the environment.
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NAM_2024_11_New community courts to advance restorative justice_Dausab_New Era.pdf | 149.2 KB |
Three suspected poachers, who allegedly travelled from Windhoek with the intention of poisoning rhinos at a farm in the Omaheke Region, were arrested by police on Saturday morning. According to the police's weekend crime report, the suspects planned to poach rhinos at Farm Morester in the Trans-Kalahari area by feeding them poisoned fruits. It is alleged that the suspects - aged between 29 and 41 - travelled on a truck from Windhoek to the Tallismanus T-junction, where they disembarked and walked to the farm.
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NAM_2024_11_Three suspected poachers apprehended in Omaheke_Informante.pdf | 46.49 KB |
Three conservancies in Namibia and their joint venture partner are trying to fight off a mine thatthreatens wildlife and community welfare because it will ruin tourism.
Three suspected rhino poachers are expected in court after their arrest in northern KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday. Police spokesperson Col Robert Netshiunda said they were arrested in Pongola shortly after midnight as part of Operation Vala Umgodi. "Police collected intelligence about the three suspects who were travelling from Hluhluwe to a game farm in Magudu area where they were reportedly going to poach rhinos. An operation was put in motion and the suspects' vehicle was intercepted on the R66 Road in the Pongola policing precinct," he said.
Rhino poachers are becoming domesticated. Not only do they strike more during full moons, but they even poach during daylight. So says a despondent farmer in the Okahandja district who caught two men red-handed on his farm last Tuesday with rhino horns in their possession. He says in the past three weeks, rhino poachers have raided three locations in the central area, poaching and killing rhinos.
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NAM_2024_11_Rhino poachers are becoming tame_Republikein.pdf | 215.82 KB |
Kimberley - The vigilance of a Springbok SAPS K9 team led to the arrest of three suspects found in possession of rhino horns and protected plants in Springbok on Monday, 11 November 2024. The police received information about an unknown vehicle transporting rhino horns on the R355 road between Springbok and Gamoep. The intelligence was operationalised and a vehicle checkpoint (VCP) was set up on the said road to stop and search all vehicles. The police K9 protected species dog, Ozzy positively responded the luggage in one of the vehicles stopped and searched.
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SA_2024_11_South African Police Service_South African Police Service.pdf | 78.36 KB |
The vigilance of a Springbok SAPS K9 team led to the arrest of three suspects found in possession of rhino horns and protected plants in the Northern Cape town.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife remains confident in the effectiveness of its rhino dehorning programme, despite the recent loss of 20 dehorned rhinos targeted for their horn stumps in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP). Since the programme's launch in April, over 1 000 rhinos have been dehorned, resulting in a significant drop in poaching numbers. Initially, Ezemvelo was hesitant to dehorn rhinos due to cost concerns and the sanctuary's unique appeal for tourists seeking to see rhinos with horns.
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SA_2024_11_Ezemvelo confident in rhino dehorning strategy despite spike in poaching_The Witness.pdf | 185.92 KB |
The Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and other conservation partners, has launched a rhino ear-notching and transmitter fitting exercise within the Tsavo West Intensive Protection Zone (IPZ). This initiative will involve the ear-notching and transmitter fitting of 20-25 rhinos, enhancing traceability and protection efforts. The exercise employs advanced technology, including LoRaWAN-enabled tracking devices, which enable near real-time monitoring and improved conservation outcomes.
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KEN_2024_11_Kenya rolls out rhino ear_notching_tracking initiative in Tsavo West_KBC.pdf | 117.62 KB |
The dehorning project in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozirhino sanctuary in KwaZulu-Natal has suffered asetback, with at least 20 dehorned animals gunneddown for their remnant horn stumps over the pastmonth. E (right) collect blood samples prior to the dehorning of another rhinoin Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve. The dehorning project in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozirhino sanctuary in KwaZulu-Natal has suffered asetback, with at least 20 dehorned animals gunneddown for their remnant horn stumps over the past month.
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SA_2024_11_Relentless poachers butcher 20 dehorned rhinos in KZN sanctuary_Daily Maverick.pdf | 600.77 KB |
Hluhluwe - Dehorning rhinos is the last resort in fighting rhino poaching and saving the under-siege species. That's according to the Chief Executive of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, Sihle Mkhize. Of 499 rhinos poached across the country in 2023, 307 were from Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife has dehorned 1,800 rhinos at the park since April this year in an effort to curb rhino poaching.
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SA_2024_11_Dehorning as last resort in fight against rhino poaching_ECNA News.pdf | 62.41 KB |
For the third time this year, a group of southern white rhinos have made a big move as part of an even bigger initiative that’s giving the future of their species hope! Rhino Rewild plans to move 2000 rhinos to safer locations in the next ten years, and they are well on their way.
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SA_2024_11_More southern white rhino move as part of massive rewilding initiative_GoodThingsGuy.pdf | 457.75 KB |
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…
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NIG_2024_05_Customs intercepts 40_ft container of illegal wildlife products_Daily Post.pdf | 439.1 KB |
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SA_2024_05_State of poaching in the Kruger National Park_Lifestyle.pdf | 1.43 MB |
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.
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NAM_2024_05_Illegal wildlife trade remains immense_UN_Namibian Sun.pdf | 66.33 KB |
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.
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NIG_2024_05_Customs arrests shipper_supplier over illegal export of wildlife_Leadership.pdf | 492.35 KB |
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NAM_2024_05_Other cases relating to poaching to be joined in Brockerhoff case_Informante.pdf | 112.8 KB |
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NAM_2024_05_Five suspects arrested for rhino poaching in Gobabis_Informante.pdf | 253.66 KB |
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.
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.
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2024_05_No bail for rhino poachers from Gobabis bull_Namibian Sun.pdf | 296.26 KB |
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.
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NAM_2024_05_Namibian precious wildlife is under threat from criminals_The Namibian.pdf | 550.94 KB |
'n Karkas van 'n groot witrenosterbul is Sondagoggend op 'n plaas in die Gobabis-distrik ontdek wat
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NAM_2024_04_Neue Nashorn_Initiative_Allgemeine Zeitung.pdf | 211.91 KB |
NAM_2024_04_New rhino initiative_Allgemeine Zeitung_Eng.pdf | 182.44 KB |
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.
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NAM_2024_05_Suspected poachers killed in exchange of fire with cops in Etosha_Informante.pdf | 63.5 KB |