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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.

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.

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.

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.

The National Assembly yesterday approved an amendment to the Nature Conservation Ordinance to increase fines related to elephant and rhino poaching from the current N$200 000 to a maximum of N$25 million. The period of imprisonment for convicted rhino or elephant poachers would be increased to a maximum of 25 years, up from 20 years.

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism yesterday tabled a bill for an amendment to the Nature Conservation Ordinance to increase fines related to rhino and elephant poaching from the current N$200 000 maximum penalty to a maximum penalty of N$25 million.

The Chinese national who smuggled 18 rhino horns through Hosea Kutako International Airport and was arrested in South Africa, had received the rhino horns in Windhoek. Ye Zhiwei, 28, who pleaded guilty to charges of importing the rhino horns without the necessary permits in the Kempton Park Regional Court in
South Africa, said in his plea explanation that he had received 15 black rhino horns and three white rhino horns at a hotel in Windhoek.

Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) has thrown its weight behind efforts to fight rhino poaching in the country, particularly inside the Etosha National Park.

Disturbing revelations pertaining to the plunder of our natural resources have come to the fore, not for the first time either, but it is the trend that is beginning to ruffle the sustainable feathers of our flora and fauna. Concerted efforts are being made in order to win the battle against the poaching of our endangered rhino and elephants as sophisticated poaching syndicates seem to have taken advantage of the loopholes and weaknesses in the anti-poaching strategies currently in place.

The highest office in the country has joined the outcry against the spate of poaching and plundering of wildlife resources currently experienced in the country. President Hage Geingob, during the opening of the 2017 legal year, called upon parliament to send him the necessary amendments to the relevant laws to increase penalties so that he can sign them into law for the courts to enforce them.

Xuecheng Hou, a wealthy Chinese businessman linked to wildlife contraband trafficking, has emerged as a major player in the illegal trade in rare African timber in sub-Saharan Africa. John Grobler investigates.

Foreigners who are found guilty of wildlife crimes should serve out their sentences, be deported and should not be allowed back in Namibia. This is the view of environment minister Pohamba Shifeta, who says the Nature Conservation Ordinance Act is outdated and far too lenient in its sentencing of poachers. According to Shifeta, the ministry is in the process of amending the Act and proposed fines for poaching will range from N$100 000 to N$25 million.

A young rhino cow that was shot multiple times by poachers at a farm near Gobabis in December, has died of her wounds.

Namibia has so far dehorned 451 black rhinos at a cost of over N$14,5 million in an effort to discourage poaching in the country. Government has been dehorning rhinos since 2014. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism makes use of experts contracted to dehorn black rhinos in the country's national game parks, including Etosha, Namib-Naukluft, Mamili, and the Waterberg Plateau Park.