SEARCH
UPLOAD
ABOUT
CONTACTSearch results
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.
Explore your search results using the filter checkboxes, or amend your search or start a new search.
Both of the convicted rhino poachers had entered the Kruger National Park, and one of them was found to be in the country illegally.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| SA_2022_04_Rhino poaching_Two men sentenced for seperate incidents_The South African.pdf | 383.2 KB |
"The absence of tourists in conservation areas enables poachers to act more freely. In normal times, tourists act as additional 'eyes and ears' in conservation areas, and their presence deters poachers from acting, but the decline in tourism activity emboldened poachers," a UK government report on the impact of Covid-19 on poaching has said.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| BOT_2022_04_Increased movement in wildlife areas reduces poaching activities_Sunday Standard.pdf | 343.45 KB |
The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has arrested three men from Chipinge for suspected unlawful possession of two live pangolins.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| ZIM_2022_04_Trio nabbed for pangolins_The Sunday Mail.pdf | 473.86 KB |
A 23-year-old man, Rich Ricardo Chauke, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment after rangers apprehended him with a rifle and an axe in Kruger National Park.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| SA_2022_04_Poacher with rifle and axe in Kruger Park sentenced to prison_Getaway.pdf | 458.84 KB |
Three Harare men, including a game ranger and a police officer yesterday appeared before magistrate Babra Mateko charged with illegal possession of 28 kilogrammes of ivory worth $700 000.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| ZIM_2022_04_Ranger_cop nabbed for illegal possession of ivory_NewsDay Zimbabwe.pdf | 170.07 KB |
Just as the barbarity of war in Ukraine or the global climate crisis gradually lose their shock value, the unrelenting massacre of South Africa’s rhino has all but drifted from public view. Behind the scenes, however, at least 75 rhinos have been butchered for their horns in KwaZulu-Natal in the opening months of 2022.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| SA_2022_04_Rhino bloodbath in KZN as poachers gun down 75 animals this year_DailyMaverick.pdf | 1.04 MB |
At least 71 rhino have been poached this year alone in Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife parks, putting KZN on the road to the species facing extinction in the region within the next five years!
It has taken suspected succulent smugglers just a few years to yank out of the ground more than 1.5 million rare plants with a cumulative age of more than 44,000 years. And illegal trade in wild flora and fauna continues to rocket, authorities say.
The reopening of the Skukuza Regional Court is producing positive results, with a 100% conviction rate for rhino poachers over the past two years. The court had been closed by the Mpumalanga Regional Court president Naomi Engelbrecht in August 2019, who wanted it to be moved to Mhala Court about 100 kilometres from Skukuza. However, this decision was overruled and the court was reopened again in April 2021.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| SA_2022_04_Poachers face full might of the law in Skukuza court_Lowvelder.pdf | 526.82 KB |
Wildlife crimes remain a severe threat to the economy and biodiversity as well as to local livelihoods, the recently released Second National Integrated State of the Environment Report for Namibia showed. According to the report, a large number of wildlife crime cases are related to poaching for meat while rhinos currently represent the most valuable and sought after wildlife crime target. "Between 2018 and 2019, there has been an increase in registered wildlife cases related to high-value species growing from 115 to 174 cases.