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Namibian Wildlife Crimes article archive

This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:

  • provide easy public access to published information and statistics
  • enable easy stakeholder access to articles
  • provide a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia

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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Displaying results 51 - 65 of 65
Thursday, 1 September 2022
Matthys D 2022. 48 rhinos poached in 8 months.

The first eight months of 2022 saw 48 rhinos poached, four times more than the rhinos poached in 2021, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism announced on Wednesday. The country recorded 44 rhinos poached in 2021, 42 in 2020, 57 in 2019, 83 in 2018, and 55 in 2017. The Etosha National Park alone saw 20 cases this year, with two carcasses discovered in the area just last week. In total, 32 poached rhinos are black and 16 are white. A total of 12 black rhinos were poached on custodianship farms and 16 white rhinos were poached on private farms.

Thursday, 1 September 2022
2022. Nashornwilderei wieterhin Hochaktiv.

Auf zwei privaten Wildfarmen in den Gegenden um Otjituuo und Otjiwarongo wurden erneut zwei Spitzmaulnashörner gewildert. Eines der zwei weiblichen Tiere war gar tragend. Damit ist die Zahl gewilderter Nashörner in Namibia auf insgesamt 48 gestiegen, 32 davon die bedrohten Spitzmaulnashörner. Laut Ermittlerin Maureen Mbeha von der Polizei in der OtjozondjupaRegion wurde das trächtige Nashorn von unbekannten Verdächtigen erschossen und wurden beide Nasenhörner abgehackt. Der Verlustwert liegt bei geschätzt einer Million Namibia-Dollar.

Thursday, 1 September 2022
Smit E 2022. Nog twee swart renosters gestroop.

Karkasse op private wildplase gevind: Een van die renosterkarkasse wat ontdek is, was dié van 'n dragtige koei. 

Carcasses found on private game farms: One of the rhino carcasses discovered was that of a pregnant cow.

Thursday, 1 September 2022
2022. The war against rhino poachers intensified.

The 2022 poaching statistics show a loss of 210 rhino on state properties and 49 in privately owned parks. As indicated, hardest hit during this period is KwaZulu-Natal which recorded a loss of 133 rhino. This is more than triple the 33 rhino killed in the first six months of 2021.

Friday, 23 May 2014
Louw J 2014. Don't Hand our Legacy to Chinese.

I am part of the public voice bidding that the three Chinese men found with 14 rhino horn in their bags – at Hosea Kutako airport (well done, Security!) – must remain in prison without bail. Thus far, I feel and believe that the judge has made the right decision in keeping them there.

Friday, 23 May 2014
Menges W 2014. No bail in rhino horn smuggling case.

The three Chinese men charged with trying to smuggle 14 rhino horns out of Namibia at the end of March had their hopes of being released on bail dashed yesterday.

Thursday, 22 May 2014
2014. Two more black rhinos killed.

Poachers have struck again in the Kunene region where the carcasses of two black rhinos were found in the Palmwag concession early this week.

Thursday, 22 May 2014
2014. No bail for Chinese smuggling suspects.

The three Chinese nationals accused of trying to smuggle rhino horns worth more than N$2 million out of Namibia have been denied bail. They were remanded in custody and their case was postponed until August 6 for further investigation. Li Xiaoliang, Li Zhibing and Pu Xuexin appeared in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court on charges of the possession and export of controlled wildlife products.

Thursday, 22 May 2014
2014. Namibians protest against rhino poaching.

Zoo Park was fittingly the venue for Namibia's first anti-rhino poaching protest, bringing together more than 60 demonstrators fighting the cause of the threatened species yesterday.

Wednesday, 21 May 2014
Smit E 2014. Two more rhinos poached at Palmwag.

Two more rhinos have been killed in the Kunene Region, bringing to five the number of rhinos poached in Namibia so far this year. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism has described the spate of poaching in the country as barbaric and says the country is ready to confront anybody caught poaching and that they will face the full wrath of the law. This comes while a group of about 60 people yesterday gathered at the Zoo Park in Windhoek to protest against bail being granted to three Chinese men who were caught in March this year with 14 rhino horns in their luggage.

Monday, 19 May 2014
Menges W 2014. DNA links rhino horns to Namibia.

DNA tests done in South Africa indicate that the rhino horns allegedly discovered in the luggage of three Chinese men at Hosea Kutako International Airport at the end of March were of Namibian origin.

Sunday, 18 May 2014
2014. Rhino horn smuggling syndicate targets Namibia.

The head of the Namibia Protective Resource Unit says there is evidence that the three Chinese men arrested for trying to smuggle 14 rhino horns out of the country are part of a much larger international syndicate. Detective Chief Inspector Barry de Klerk also testified last Friday during the bail hearing of the three accused that a Chinese investigator will arrive in Namibia within the next few weeks to assist with investigations.

Friday, 16 May 2014
Menges W 2014. Alleged rhino horn smuggler reports cell assault.

One of the Chinese men accused of trying to smuggle two suitcases containing rhino horns out of Namibia near the end of March told a magistrate yesterday that four of his front teeth were knocked out when he was assaulted by detainees in police custody.

Monday, 12 May 2014
2014. Government and experts meet to tackle poaching.

A total of 11 rhinos have been killed by poachers in the past six years with eight animals poached in the past two years, a further two in 2021 and one in 2011 and 28 horns recovered during that period, a workshop on wildlife that was held in Windhoek was told.

Sunday, 11 May 2014
Smit E 2014. Chinese rhino horn suspects in bail bid.

The 14 rhino horns, valued at N$2.3 million and which were confiscated from three Chinese nationals recently, were poached in Namibia. This was confirmed at the bail hearing Li Xiaoliang, Li Zhibing and Pu Xuexin last week, when they appeared on charges of possessing and attempting to export controlled wildlife products. They were allegedly caught with the rhino horns, as well as a leopard skin valued at N$50 000, in their luggage on 23 March at Hosea Kutako International Airport.

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