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.
Explore your search results using the filter checkboxes, or amend your search or start a new search.
Three suspects were shot and fatally wounded in a shootout with police in the early hours of Wednesday, 31 January 2024. Police received intelligence that a group involved in serious crimes including murders committed in the Inanda area were hiding at the Lungelani Informal Settlement in La Mercy. A team comprising of various police disciplines including members of the Hawks descended on the location. Realising that they were surrounded, the suspects opened fire at the police and a shootout ensued.
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SA_2024_31_Three suspects fatally wounded in a shootout with police _SAPS.pdf | 101.56 KB |
Police arrest six suspected rhino poachers in Limpopo and Gauteng; recover horns, guns and ammunition.
Katima Mulilo - Three individuals, Nyambe Calvin Matomola, John Mwelwa, and Nziye Lusinyize, have been brought before the Katima Mulilo Magistrate's Court for alleged possession of controlled wildlife products. The trio was apprehended with a total of 39 elephant tusks, leading to their court appearance on Tuesday. Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda, revealed that Matomola, along with seven Zambian nationals, was caught with 24 tusks after smuggling them into Namibia via the Zambezi Region.
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ZAM_2024_30_Katima Mulilo Court Trials for Elephant Tusk Possession_Namibia News Digest.pdf | 25.4 KB |
Two businessmen and a farmer of Lusaka have been taken to court for illegal possession of a live pangolin, one of the most tracked mammal in the world, valued at over K23, 000. Pangolin meat is considered a delicacy, while their scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine as they are believed to treat a range of ailments from asthma to rheumatism and arthritis.
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ZAM_2024_30_Three found with a live pangolin_held_Mwebantu.pdf | 206.88 KB |
It's not rocket science. Harsher sentences - both locally and abroad - need to be dished out to those who poach rhinos for their horns, or smuggle those horns to other countries. The South African government reported 448 rhinos were killed across the country in 2022 - just three fewer than the previous year. It's welcoming to hear a Singapore court on Friday sentenced Gumede Sthembiso Joel, a 33- year-old South African man, to two years in jail for smuggling rhino horns. It was the heaviest sentence handed down by the city state for trafcking wildlife parts.
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SA_2024_29_Harsh jail sentences way to end war on rhino poaching_The Citizen.pdf | 231.65 KB |
One of Algoa Bay’s most valuable resources is being poached and plundered at an alarming rate. Nelson Mandela Bay has experienced a string of perlemoen-related incidents over the past few days, with experts in the field saying the illegal trade of this protected shellfish is now at an all-time high.
In a crucial operation towards wildlife protection, a Mozambican national has been arrested at Namwera, Mangochi, charged with the illegal possession of a protected wildlife species. The arrest, a serious violation of section 110(b) of the National Parks and Wildlife Act, signifies the ongoing fight against wildlife trafficking, a crime increasingly crossing national boundaries and threatening global biodiversity. Caught in the act was 26-year-old Moses Paul Banda, a Mozambican citizen.
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MOZ_2024_19_Mozambican Arrested for Wildlife Trafficking_A Global Issue_BNN Breaking_Com.pdf | 190.58 KB |
Two men are expected to appear in the Vryheid magistrate's court after they were arrested with two rhino horns and a rie hidden in their car's engine compartment. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Lt-Col Nqobile Gwala said ofcers acted on information about the suspects and spotted their vehicle on the R34 travelling towards Vryheid and a high-speed chase ensued.
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SA_2024_19_Police arrest two men with rhino horns after high_speed car chase_Timeslive.pdf | 414.61 KB |
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ZIM_2024_01_Zimbabwe_Trio arrested for poaching_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 90.15 KB |
The police constable and a civilian had been arrested in Nairobi West and Eastleigh with the cargo on Sunday. They had tried to sell the trophies to Kenya Wildlife Service ocials who had posed as potential buyers.
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KEN_2024_17_Policeman among two arrested with elephant tusks in Nairobi_Star.pdf | 287.96 KB |
Three Hurungwe men who captured themselves on camera killing an elephant using traditional weapons and dogs yesterday appeared before Kariba magistrate accused of hunting or removing any animal or part of the animal in a safari area without a permit. Francis Chigomararwa (30), Simeon Kezias (23) and Arthur Murimbika (24) all from Nyamakate area are also facing another charge of killing a buffalo.The accused were unlucky when a video went viral of them killing an elephant after setting their dogs on it before attacking it using spears and axes.
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ZIM_2024_16_Trio arrested for poaching_Newsday Zimbabwe.pdf | 191.01 KB |
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NAM_2024_01_SRT volg eenvoudige benadering tot stropery_Republikein.pdf | 224.82 KB |
NAM_2024_01_SRT takes simple approach to poaching_Republikein_Eng.pdf | 225.05 KB |
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NAM_SRT challenges military style approach to poaching_Namibian Sun.pdf | 457.63 KB |
Bei Outjo mehren sich weiterhin die Vorfälle von Kriminalität auf Farmen. Wie Rolf Wagner und Erika Zamzow von der Farm Moselle gegenüber der AZ berichteten, haben Unbekannte im vergangenen Dezember Solarinstallationen und Pumpen von fünf Wasserstellen der Farm gestohlen. Die Farm arbeite eng mit der Anti-Wilderei-Einheit Nyime zusammen, die die Diebe "über fast 30 Kilometer bis zur Teerstraße Outjo-Khorixas verfolgt" hätten. Die Diebe seien nicht gefasst, aber nahezu alle gestohlenen Teile sichergestellt worden.
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NAM_2024_01_Diebstaehle bei Farmen um Outjo_Allgemeine Zeitung.pdf | 303.47 KB |
NAM_2024_01_Thefts from farms around Outjo_Allgemeine Zeitung_Eng.pdf | 304.72 KB |
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NAM_2024_01_Nashornschutz auf andere Weise_ Allgemeine Zeitung.pdf | 295.45 KB |
NAM_2024_01_Rhino protection in a different way_Allgemeine Zeitung_Eng.pdf | 294.38 KB |
Die 49-jarige Leon Schiffer het Maandag in die landdroshof op Maltahöhe verskyn. Hy word van stropery in die Namib-Naukluft Nasionale Park (in die Sesriem-distrik) aangekla. Luidens verlede naweek se polisieverslag is Schiffer op 5 Januarie omstreeks 10:00 saam met nog 'n verdagte (32) in hegtenis geneem - volgens inligting van die landdroskantoor in Maltahöhe was dit 'n sekere "Gariseb". Die twee het glo nege gemsbokke gestroop.
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NAM_2024_01_Beweerde stropery in Namib Naukluft_Republikein.pdf | 223.95 KB |
NAM_2024_01_Alleged poaching in Namib Naukluft_Republikein_Eng.pdf | 245.02 KB |
Dit gaan baie goed met Venasha, die renosterkalfie wat in Oktober 2022 by die Rhino Momma-projek aangekom het, nadat sy deur haar ma verwerp is. Volgens Juliette Erdtsieck, haar versorger van die afgelope 19 maande, bly Venasha onder meer saam met drie renosterkoeie en hul kalwers in 'n kamp. "Sy word nou regtig baie groot en is 'n regte renoster! Sy het op 26 November haar laaste bottel melk gekry en aan die einde van die jaar is sy na die groot kamp verskuif," sê Juliette. Die Rhino Momma-projek in Namibië het in 2022 in een maand twee wees-renosterkalfies gekry.
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NAM_2024_01_Venasha_die renoster blom_Republikein.pdf | 226.3 KB |
NAM_2024_01_Venasha_The rhino flower_Republikein_Eng.pdf | 454.95 KB |
Botswana and Namibia have embarked on a joint investigation into the increased incidents of elephant poaching in the northern part of Botswana. "The country (Botswana) experienced a surge in elephant poaching incidents during November and December 2023," Lesego Kgomanyane, the spokesperson for Botswana's Ministry of Environment and Tourism, told Xinhua over the telephone, noting that the development has shone the light on the apparent increase in poaching of elephants in northern Botswana.
A number of approaches have been used to safeguard different natural resources. Use, and vulnerability mainly depends on its social, and economic value. Wildlife, considerably more valuable- has generated a lot of interest as concerned parties try to apply different approaches to ensure that it is protected. It is unfortunate that some of the wildlife species, like animals' numbers that dwindled because human beings always target them as a means of survival or tampered with their habitats.
The Criminal Offenses Investigation Directorate (DIIP) detained in flagrante two nationals in possession of 10 rhinoceros horns that would be sold for four million Kwanzas, in the Nambambi neighborhood, on the outskirts of the city of Lubango, Huíla province, this Thursday said. fair to the police.
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ANG_2021_10_PN detained two men with 10 rhino horns that they intended to sell for 4 million Kz.pdf | 449.65 KB |
Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) on Wednesday paraded before media a group of suspects including; Murokozi Desire, Gisa Derrick, Kaburaburyo Cyriaqué a Burundian national and Nicodem Bagabo from Democratic Republic of Congo. The three were found in possession with a consignment of elephant tusks. According to World Wildlife Fund -a leading organization in wildlife conservation and endangered species, poachers kill about 20,000 elephants every single year for their tusks, which are then traded illegally in the international market to eventually end up as ivory trinkets.
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RWA_2021_10_Rwanda arrests 4 poachers with elephant tusks_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 654.88 KB |
A 24 percent decline in the number of white rhinos over the past decade has caused wildlife conservationists to panic over the future of the endangered pachyderms on the African continent. Despite concerted efforts made by most African states to protect their rhinoceros populations, an International Rhino Foundation (IRF) report has revealed that rhino numbers continue to drop due to poaching.
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AFRICA_2021-10_Continued African Rhino loses alarm conservationists_ FairPlanet.pdf | 75.19 KB |
According to the report, three Namibians were arrested on 15 October at Katima Mulilo for being in the possession of a live pangolin. Chika Ilukena, Mayuni and Nicky Mundia were charged with illegal possession and dealing of controlled wildlife products. At Witvlei, three Namibians were arrested on 16 October when they were caught with an oryx carcass.
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NAM_2021_10_23 arrested for wildlife crimes_Namibian Sun.pdf | 247.19 KB |
Germany on Tuesday granted Tanzania 71 million Euros (about 82.3 million U.S. dollars) for financing various projects, including those initiated to fight poaching and prevent human-wildlife conflicts. An agreement to the grant was signed in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam by Tanzania’s deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Amina Shaaban, and Marcus von Essen, head of the East Africa Division in the Federal German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
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TAN_2021_10_Tanzania gets grant for projects of fighting poaching improving water access_News Ghana.pdf | 154.87 KB |
Mangochi Police have arrested Group Village Headman Maundu aged 49 and Rashid White Jusa, 55, over possession of pangolin.
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MAL_2021_10_Two arrested for possessing Pangolin in Mangochi_Malawi 24_Malawi news.pdf | 882.8 KB |
Boere in die Witvlei-omgewing is opnuut moedeloos met 'n vlaag van vee- en wildmisdaad oor die afgelope maand, terwyl hulle sê die regstelsel misluk daarin om enige beskerming aan hulle of hul eiendom te bied.
Farmers in the Witvlei area are once again discouraged with a spate of livestock and game crime over the past month, saying the legal system is failing to provide any protection to them or their property.
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NAM_2021_10_Witvlei_boere_Regstelsel faal ons_Repiblikein.pdf | 375.59 KB |
NAM_2021_10_Witvlei farmers_Legal system fails us_Republikein_Eng.pdf | 375.03 KB |
The Botswana government is moving rhinos out of the Okavango Delta after a surge in poaching that has seen 92 of the endangered animals killed in the past two years, compared to just seven in 2010 to 2018. The delta is one of two World Heritage Sites in the southern African country, a 20,000 square-kilometer (7,700 square-mile) wetland populated by 130 animal species, including white and black rhinos. It's Botswana's premier tourist attraction and the rhinos are a major drawcard.
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BOT_2021_10_Botswana moves rhinos out of Okavango Delta as poaching worsens_Bloomberg.pdf | 161.85 KB |
The department of forestry, fisheries and the environment has welcomed the hefty sentences handed down by a North West court to three rhino poachers on Wednesday. The Mogwase regional court handed down sentences of 85 years each to Mozambican nationals Arlindo Muhlanga, Adam Hlongwane and Gamula Chauke. The men were arrested in 2018 after the poaching and dehorning of three white rhino cows in the Pilanesberg Game Reserve.
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SA_2021_10_Department welcomes hefty sentences imposed on three rhino poachers_Times Live.pdf | 370.12 KB |
According to the latest wildlife crime report, Petrus van Rensburg was arrested at Ariamsvlei on 9 October with 10 oryx carcasses. He was charged for the illegal hunting of huntable game. In another incident, Kaserandu Tjiumbua was arrested at Kamdesha on 10 October for poisoning four lions and two spotted hyenas. He was charged with illegal hunting of game and for administering poison. At Rundu, Dominikus Ndara was arrested on 11 October for being in the possession of a python skin. He was charged for the illegal possession and dealing of controlled wildlife products.
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NAM_2021_10_20 wildlife products seized from 9 suspects_Namibian Sun.pdf | 294.92 KB |
Environment, forestry and tourism minister Pohamba Shifeta has revealed that Namibia's elephant population has grown to an estimated 23 736 since independence.
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NAM_2021_10_Elephant conservation efforts yield results Shifeta_The Namibian.pdf | 616.78 KB |
Five men have been arrested in the Western Cape in connection with the illegal possession of more than 5 600 succulents. The arrests were the result of an integrated operation between the police, Malmesbury Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit and Cape Nature, said police spokesperson Sergeant Luqmaan Adams on Thursday. "The suspects were arrested after they were stopped and searched on the N7 close to Vanrhynsdorp.
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SA_2021_10_Five arrested for allegedly poaching Western Cape succulents_News24.pdf | 269.77 KB |
Three men accused of rhino poaching have each been sentenced to an effective 35 years in jail. They were found in possession of rhino horn valued at R1.5 million. The accused were found to have killed three female rhinos in 2018.
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SA_2021_10_Three poachers get an effective 35 years behind bars for killing 3 female rhinos_News24.pdf | 431.48 KB |
Three poachers were sentenced to a cumulative 85 years imprisonment on charges relating to a rhino poaching incident at the Pilanesberg Game Reservice in the North West. On 2 July 2018, the trio were trying to leave the game reserve in the North West in a white Ford bakkie loaded with stolen rhino horns valued at R1.5 million. Their bail application was denied and they remained in police custody until the completion of the trial.
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SA_2021_10_Three rhino poachers sentenced to 85 years imprisonment_The Citizen.pdf | 430.25 KB |
Botswana wildlife authorities have refuted reports the country's rhinoceros population is on the verge of extinction due to poaching. The southern African country has battled a rise in poaching, with more than 60 animals killed in the last two years.
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BOT_2021_10_Botswana allays concerns over rhino poaching crisis_VOA News.pdf | 360.29 KB |
Two Mbire poachers were yesterday sentenced to a combined 20-year jail term by Guruve magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa over possession of 34,12kg of elephant tusks.
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ZIM_2021_10_Mbire poachers jailed 20 years_NewsDay.pdf | 343.06 KB |
A 37-year-old man of Toteng village was on Friday last week acquitted and discharged of unlawful possession of elephant tusks. It was alleged that on August 20th, Kangootui Kangootui was found in possession of two elephant tusks weighing 16.8kg valued at P27,513.55 wrapped in old blankets along Kunyere River. According Magistrate Keneilwe Kgoadi, the state has failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt.
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BOT_2021_10_Man acquitted of illegal possession of elephant tusks_The Voice Botswana.pdf | 567.68 KB |
Arusha - Tourism players have pumped a multimillion shillings into an extensive anti-poaching programme designed to protect the priceless wildlife heritage into the country's wild animals-richest Serengeti National Park.
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TAN_2021_10_Investors Dish Out Sh150 Million to Boost Anti_Poaching Drive_allAfrica_com.pdf | 148.04 KB |
Poaching has been the greatest threat to wildlife and might cause its extinction in different African countries including Zimbabwe, a wildlife expert has said. Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe president Emmanuel Fundira yesterday said, while game meat production can contribute to economic growth in the country, there was need to curb poaching activities. In a survey conducted in eastern Madagascar, it was revealed that 95% of those interviewed said they had eaten at least one protected species.
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ZIM_2021_10_Poaching a threat to Africas wildlife_NewsDay.pdf | 946.8 KB |
At the peak of the rhino poaching war in South Africa in 2015 and 2016, poachers slaughtered nearly three rhinos a day. Although that rate has declined, the numbers are still disheartening and unsustainable, with poachers killing at least one rhino every day. Some conservationists have looked to drones as a potentially powerful tool in anti-poaching efforts, with the technology continuing to evolve. But experts say it isn’t at the level yet where it can meet the challenge, and that while it can be helpful, conservation efforts must continue to engage and educate local…
Four suspected rhino poachers were arrested over the weekend (15-18 October) in the Kruger National Park, thanks to the brave efforts of members of the Rangers Corp, assisted by the K9 Unit and the Aviators of the Airwing. The arrests - as well as one fatality - took place in the Stolznek section of the Park, South African National Parks (SANParks) said in an announcement today.
The 38-year-old poacher was sentenced to 19 years behind bars after a white rhinoceros was killed in Lower Sabie in 2014.
The poaching of endangered species such as rhinos and elephants in Namibia has significantly decline this year. This is according to data provided by Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism on Thursday. So for, a total of 14 rhinos and five elephants were killed by poachers this year in Namibia.
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NAM_2021_10_Rhino and elephant poaching declines_Informante.pdf | 2.36 MB |
Two Victoria Falls men, one of them a neighbourhood watch committee (NWC) member, have been fined $6 000 each for trapping animals with wire snares.
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ZIM_2021_10_Suspended sentences for wire snare poachers_The Chronicle.pdf | 1.92 MB |
The connections between poaching and human-wildlife conflict in conservancies are a significant local conservation concern. Meanwhile, poaching is compromising the ability of local communities to legally use natural resources to support local livelihoods, and reduces wildlife available for local economic development. This is according to the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Alka Bhatia. She was speaking at a signing ceremony of the 'integrated approach to proactive management of human-wildlife conflict and wildlife crime in hotspot landscapes in Namibia' project…
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NAM_2021_10_Poaching_wildlife conflict connected_Namibian Sun.pdf | 172.31 KB |
Dem namibischen Umweltministerium werden künftig rund 92 Millionen N$ für den Schutz von Wild- und Nutztieren zur Verfügung stehen. Im Rahmen einer Zeremonie haben Vertreter des Umweltministeriums, des Entwicklungsprogramms der Vereinten Nationen (UNDP, United Nations Development Programme) und der nationalen Planungskommission (NPC, National Planning Commission) am Dienstagnachmittag die Projektpapiere unterzeichnet. Die Wildschutzstrategie wird von der globalen Umwelteinrichtung (GEF, Global Environment Facility) finanziert und soll ab Januar kommenden Jahres bis zum Jahr 2026…
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NAM_2021_10_Wildschutzprojekt gestartet_Allgemeine Zeitung.pdf | 366.54 KB |
NAM_2021_10_Wildlife protection project started_Allgemeine Zeitung_Eng.pdf | 364.54 KB |
Terwyl onlangse statistieke aandui Namibië wen die stryd teen wildmisdaad en mens-dier-konflik, sal 'n projek van stapel gestuur word om hierdie pogings te versterk. Dit volgens die uitvoerende direkteur van die omgewing, bosbou en toerisme, mnr. Teofilus Nghitila. Hy het dit tydens die ondertekening van die projekdokument getiteld "Geïntegreerde benadering tot pro-aktiewe bestuur van mens-dier-konflik en wildmisdaad in brandpunt-landskappe in Namibië" gesê.
While recent statistics indicate that Namibia is winning the battle against both wildlife crime and human-wildlife conflict, an almost N$100 million project will intensify these efforts. This is according to the environment ministry executive director, Teofilus Nghitila. He was speaking at the signing of the project document. The total budget of the project is approximately N$92 million at current exchange rates and will ramp up Namibia's efforts to prevent and mitigate both human-wildlife conflict and wildlife crime in the period up to 2026.
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NAM_2021_10_NS92m injection against wildlife crime_Namibian Sun.pdf | 318.19 KB |
A long-serving nature conservation official and a former policeman have been charged in connection with illegally transporting 17 rhino horns from the Northern Cape to North West province in contravention of permit conditions.
Monrovia, Liberia - Two men have been arrested for killing two protected elephants in northern Liberia, the head of a national park said on Monday.
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LIB_2021-10_2 arrested for killing elephants_Africa Sustainable Conservation News.pdf | 519.59 KB |