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Faced with an increase in cross-border wildlife offences over the past five years, Rwanda has adopted a technical toolkit to assist authorities in the judicial system to handle wildlife and other environmental crimes. Launched in early December 2022, the Rwanda Rapid Reference Guide on Wildlife and Environmental Crimes and Related Administrative Faults will help address the challenges of lack of evidence in prosecuting wildlife crimes, especially those committed in border communities.

The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DFFE) has reported that relentless pressure has forced rhino poachers to abandon parks in 2022.

The police in the Eastern Cape are searching for poachers who shot, killed, and dehorned two rhinos on a safari farm in Paterson on Wednesday evening, 1 February.

Eastern Cape police have arrested two suspects for possession of abalone worth R1.8m in Gqeberha.

Rhinos may look formidable, but their species have declined due to continuous poaching in Nambia and South Africa. Rhinos, mainly the black rhinos, have dealt with population declines due to threats of illegal trade, poaching, habitat loss and infrastructure development. The population of rhinos is critically endangered. Without immediate actions and protection efforts, it would lead to sudden extinction. The economic and political issues in places where Rhinos thrive make it more difficult for conservation efforts.

Two rhinos that survived a poaching attack at Schotia Safaris Private Game Reserve, near Nanaga, nearly 10 years ago were killed by poachers on Thursday. After disabling the pair of male and female white rhinos in the attack, the poachers hacked off their horns with pangas before making their escape.

Two rhinos were brutally shot and killed on a safari farm in Paterson late in the evening on Wednesday, earlier this week in the Sarah Baartman District. The poachers had managed to find a way into the farm before stalking, shooting and killing the adult rhinos, thereafter de-horning both of them. A police report told that the two rhinos, one male and the other female, were last spotted during an afternoon game drive. They were only found dead by game rangers the following afternoon while more tourists came through on another game drive.

A Mozambican man, convicted for poaching, will spend the next 18 years in prison. Santos Baloyi, 31, was arrested after a rhino was killed at Kruger National Park in September. He was also convicted on charges of trespassing, contravention of the Immigration Act, possession of a dangerous weapon.

An instructor at Valombola Vocational Training Center in Ongwediva and a member of the Namibian Defence Force attached to the Otavi   military base, were on  Sunday arrested by the Oshikoto police for illegal hunting.

Three security officers and three employees of the Namibia Airports Company (NAC) are in custody at the Hosea Kutako International Airport after they killed two near extinct African wild dogs and wounded another one that was part of a pack of five in order to steal a kudu carcass that the animals managed to kill on the world famous N/a’an ku sê wildlife sanctuary where the animals were in the process of being rehabilitated.

Poaching remains a big concern in Namibia, where it shows that poaching is moving away from the National parks and more into private farms and custodian farms. It can be attributed to the intensified security in parks.

A Namibian Sun investigation in Kavango, where it is alleged Chinese national Hou 'Josy' Xuecheng and others are continuing with logging, has revealed frenetic activity before transport and export permits expire this Sunday. Hou has, however, again denied that he is continuing to harvest trees in the Kavango East Region. Sources close to his operation have made the claim that his company, New Force Logistics CC, is still harvesting trees for export via the Walvis Bay harbour.

A man, who stands accused of poaching two rhinos along with four other men on a private farm in the area of Kamanjab in December last year, was granted bail in the amount of N$18 000 this morning. Magistrate Immanuel Udjombala found that the 35-year-old George Nanyeni only role in the crime was that he transported his four co-accused, who actually slaughtered the rhinos, away from the crime scene.

Two men were arrested at Katima Mulilo in the Zambezi region on Wednesday after they were found in possession of four elephant tusks.

Two suspected poachers were arrested on Monday night after they were found in possession of a crocodile skin in Kongola area of the Zambezi region.

The 51-year-old Tobias Nuuyoma, a senior officer in the Namibian Defence Force and the 55-year-old Samuel Mumbala, a lecturer at the Valombola Vocational Training Centre were released on bail of N$ 5 000 each after they were arrested on charges of poaching over the past weekend.

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism has recorded 26 poaching incidents since January, according to the ministry’s spokesperson Romeo Muyunda this week. According to the statistics, seven elephants and 19 rhinos were poached since January. In May, the ministry recorded 18 incidents in which eight animals were killed.