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The netizens were reacting to the arrest of five men caught harvesting the endangered 424 Clavias marebelius plants in Nieuwoudtville, Northern Cape. The SAPS reportedly pounced on the unsuspecting culprits on 27 June 2024 after receiving information about the alleged plant poaching. The men, aged between 21 and 30, had allegedly harvested about R2.7 million worth of the protected plant.

The recent seizure in Thailand of 48 lemurs and more than 1,200 critically endangered tortoises endemic to Madagascar underscores the global scale of wildlife trafficking networks that use Thailand as a transshipment hub. The operation was aided by intelligence from a joint transnational investigation between Thai law enforcement agencies and international antitrafficking organizations working to dismantle global wildlife trafficking networks spanning Asia, Africa and South America.

On June 3, a man was arrested at the Bangui Mpoko Airport in the Central African Republic (CAR) for illegal transport of ivory. This is the second case of ivory smuggling in Bangui in the span of just one week. The arrested man is a Central African Citizen who didn’t have any identity document with him despite his intention to travel abroad. The police confiscated several suitcases filled to the brim with ivory from this Central African citizen.

Tanzania is home to wild herds of buffalo, wildebeest, hartebeest, and impala that have been hunted for meat by generations of indigenous communities. In 2019, Tanzania’s late President called on the country’s authorities to establish a mechanism that will allow Tanzania's to access wild meat, counter rampant poaching and illegal bushmeat trade through a pioneering set of national laws. By early 2020, the Game Meat Selling Regulations (GMSR) - new legislation for the legal sourcing, selling, and consumption of wild meat - had come into force.

Four suspected rhino poachers died in two separate incidents in South Africa's internationally renowned Kruger National Park this month (June). The park on South Africa's eastern boundary is bordered by Mozambique and Zimbabwe and for the first time was last year overtaken by KwaZulu-Natal as the apparent venue of choice for armed poachers seeking rhino horn.

In January 2019, the arrest and imminent prosecution of several Vietnamese wildlife traffickers in Kampala excited wildlife conservationists in Uganda and abroad who saw it as an opportunity to disrupt a cartel that had been growing and widening in eastern Africa over two decades. But, the conservationists' excitement soon turned to despair, if not disappointment as they watched the case get smothered and eventually dismissed from Uganda's Anti-Corruption Court, reports Ronald Musoke. Five years on, there are more unanswered questions as to why this case collapsed.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT) this week expressed deep sorrow following two separate fatal elephant attacks on 17 June within the country. The first incident involved the tragic death of Gert Van der Walt, a renowned professional hunter, during a hunting expedition. The ministry identified the elephant involved as a problem-causing animal and issued a trophy hunting permit accordingly. Van der Walt, known for his adherence to hunting ethics and his pivotal role in resolving human-wildlife conflicts, was highly respected within the conservation…

South Africa, where 79% of the world's rhinos live, said it aims to come up with a plan by the end of 2030 to dismantle an almost half-century ban on trading the endangered animals' horns. The proposal, contained in a draft of the country's first rhino biodiversity-management plan released late Tuesday, is controversial because poaching of the animals for their horns has decimated their populations across Africa. The horns are ground into powder and sold in east Asia where they are falsely believed to cure cancer and other ailments.

The recent discovery of poaching at a restoration site has stunned the conservation community, leaving it in a state of disbelief and anger. This viral TikTok video showcases a conservationist's dismay as he uncovers the theft of valuable plants. "This beach restoration site in the Bay Area used to be all invasive ice plant, and it should be covered in native succulent flowers. But people are poaching the Dudleya and picking their flowers for profit," Dickson explains in the video caption.

There was barely a dry eye in the Kwale courtroom last Monday afternoon, June 10th, 2024, when Augustine Odwori Malingo and Nancy Akoth Owino were sentenced by Principal Magistrate Lillian Lewa. They had been found guilty of possession of wildlife trophies that included 4 ivory tusk pieces weighing 500 grammes and 1 hippo tooth weighing a similar amount from their 2019 arrest.

The ownership of the Henties Bay Seal Products Factory is again being disputed after the company failed in its bid to reclaim 501 boxes of seized seal products The bid to reclaim the products was dismissed in the Katutura Magistrate's Court recently. Seal Products is harvesting and processing a seal quota in their Henties Bay and Lüderitz factories. The controversy began on 10 January when the Namibian Revenue Agency (NAMRA) conducted a coordinated intervention at a warehouse in Sun Industrial Park, Windhoek, shared by Seal Products and Golden Lion Investment CC.

Wildlife organisation, Wild Africa Fund has welcomed the news of the decline in elephant poaching but warns that the threat to Africa's elephants persists. This, as a new report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has revealed that elephant poaching is on the decline. The reduction of cases has been linked to the closure of key domestic ivory markets which has significantly reduced demand.

A wildlife warden on Wednesday raised alarm over the increase in poaching and the cutting down of trees at the Badingilo National Park. Speaking to reporters at the park, acting Warden, Maj. Butrus Simon, said the killing of the wildlife and deforestation have been exacerbated by the economic hardship in the country. "The poaching activities inside the park are due to the current situation. You will find that many poachers kill the animals and cut the trees," Simon said.

Police and wildlife authorities in Malawi have arrested two men suspected of having killed an elephant in Kasungu National Park. Residents of villages just outside the park's boundaries informed police about two men selling elephant meat, who were subsequently found in possession of 16.6 kg (36.6 lbs) of ivory.

Southern African nations are at it again. Nyasha Chingono reported in late May that those “hosting the largest elephant populations in the world made a fresh pitch…to be allowed to sell their $1bn ivory stockpiles”, purportedly to allocate it towards conservation. How they derive this figure is unclear, and the report doesn’t question its veracity. Current ivory prices are around US$400/kg in illicit markets in the East and averaging about $92/kg across Africa (except for Nigeria which has now become the continent’s major export hub).

Poaching and illegal coal mining threaten the future of Matabeleland's elephant population. Nokuthaba Mathema investigates Ivory stockpile: The elephant herds of Matabeleland are primary targets of ‘sponsored poaching’ with the collusion of state officials, says one expert. Photo: AP/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi In the shadows of Zimbabwe’s environmental management lies a devastating truth: environmental crimes, such as poaching, illegal wildlife trade and illicit coal mining continue to afflict Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland province in the south-west of the country.

Environmental history was made on Friday 7 June 2024 when the last of 120 white rhinos was released into the network of private and communal reserves on the western border of the Kruger National Park. The operation was carried out under a strict veil of secrecy to ensure its security.

In diesem Jahr wurden in Namibia schon insgesamt 47 Nashörner gewildert, von denen 32 Kadaver im Etoscha-Nationalpark gefunden wurden. Nach Angaben des Sprechers des Umweltministeriums, Romeo Muyunda, handelt es sich bei 33 um Spitzmaulnashörner und 14 um Breitmaulnashörner. "Von den 47 Nashörnern, die in diesem Jahr bisher gewildert wurden, wurden zusätzlich zu den 32 in Etoscha acht Spitzmaulnashörner auf Farmen, die Teil des Nashornschutz-Projekts sind, gewildert. Davon sechs auf privaten Farmen und eines in der Kunene-Region", sagte Muyunda. Vor weniger als einem Monat, am 13…

Altesaam 47 renosters is al vanjaar in Namibië gestroop waarvan 32 karkasse in die Etosha Nasionale Park gevind is.Volgens die woordvoerder van die ministerie van die omgewing, bosbou en toerrisme, Romeo Muyunda, is 33 swartrenosters en 14 witrenosters gestroop. 

A total of 47 rhinos have been poached in Namibia this year, of which 32 carcasses were found in the Etosha National Park. According to the spokesperson of the Ministry of the Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Romeo Muyunda, 33 black rhinos and 14 white rhinos were poached.

Altesaam 47 renosters is al vanjaar in Namibië gestroop waarvan 32 karkasse in die Etosha Nasionale Park gevind is. 

A total of 47 rhinos have been poached in Namibia this year, of which 32 carcasses have been found in the Etosha National Park.

Environment and tourism minister Pohamba Shifeta has come out strongly against CITES' decision to ban ivory from being sold on international markets. In an interview with New Era on the sidelines of the just-ended KAZA summit in Livingstone, he said if the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) refuses member states to sell off ivory stockpiles, they will withdraw their membership. "If CITES refuses, we have some alternatives and plans. We can go for arbitration.

In early May, the environment ministry's forestry directorate raided farms in the Kunene Region where protected mopane trees are being harvested and exported for charcoal and firewood. Trucks carrying loads of wood and charcoal - without permits to do so - have already been seized, the directorate confirmed. An outraged charcoal producer in the Outjo district, who preferred to remain anonymous, claimed a forestry official threatened him and demanded a bribe from him to not stop his charcoal business.

The Namibian police in the Otjozondjupa Region have arrested a 19-year-old suspect who was allegedly found in possession of a warthog carcass and was unable to explain how it came into his possession. The arrest was made at Farm Euros in the Kombat area on Saturday morning. It is alleged that the suspect entered the farm without the owner's permission and "unlawfully and intentionally" slaughtered a warthog worth N$7,000, which was then found in his possession. Retrieved from the Facebook Site of Informanté.

Rhino horns, popular for centuries in Asia as an aphrodisiac, are worth an astounding $450,000 each on the black market. Poaching is rife, well-organised, and difficult to stop due to endemic corruption in many African nations. South Africa's Kruger National Park has lost about 7000 rhinos to poaching in recent years - poachers kill the animal, making it easier to take the horn.

In the shadows of Zimbabwe's environmental management lies a devastating truth: environmental crimes, such as poaching, illegal wildlife trade and illicit coal mining continue to afflict Zimbabwe's Matabeleland province in the south-west of the country. In May this year, a tip-off by locals ended in one death, two arrests and the discovery of endangered animal parts. Detectives from the Crime Investigation Department confronted three alleged poachers on the outskirts of the capital city, Bulawayo, on May 18 - Jabulani Chamiti (34), Philani Ndlovu (23) and Cosmas Sebele (56).

People who are shooting birds of prey should be prosecuted, says FreeMe Wildlife, who are on a mission to protect the raptors amid a rise in their killings. Tammy Caine, a raptor specialist at FreeMe Wildlife, said they have recently had two birds of prey - an African harrier hawk and a spotted eagle owl - come in with pellets in their wings. "While the African harrier hawk is still in care, the spotted eagle owl sadly had to be euthanised.

Police in Mangochi have arrested a 50-year old man for possession of nine pieces of ivory.

A zebra and its foal have been found dead, caught in the grip of a snare in the Bisley Nature Reserve.

"This award to the ranger team has come despite operating in the face of adversity, with the results of a positive growth population of rhino." "Under the protection of ATS, the rhino population in Save Valley Conservancy has seen a biological growth rate of 7%, this is above the 5% IUCN recommendation for game reserves protecting rhino, and maintained a poaching mortality rate of below 2%, also IUCN recommended," the WCPA statement read.

Boere het gister by die landdroshof op Karibib saamgekom om te probeer verhoed dat borgtog aan vermeende vee- en wildstropers toegestaan word. Dit volg nadat daar in die week tussen volmaan en 21 Julie beeste ter waarde van N$135 000, gemsbokke van N$60 000 en sebras van N$9 000 in die omgewing van Otjiwarongo, Karibib en Omaruru gesteel is. 

Am gestrigen Montag versammelten sich Farmer vor dem Magistratsgericht von Karibib, um zu verhindern, dass mutmaßliche Wilderer auf Kaution freigelassen werden. Dies geschah, nachdem in der Woche zwischen Vollmond und dem 21. Juli in der Gegend von Otjiwarongo, Karibib und Omaruru Rinder im Wert von 135 000 N$, Gemsböcke im Wert von 60 000 N$ und Zebras im Wert von 9 000 N$ gestohlen worden waren. Darüber hinaus mussten die Farmer rund 22 000 N$ für Treibstoff, Wachen und Anti-Wilderer-Einheiten bezahlen.

Kigali: For many years, East African countries were considered wildlife trafficking hotspots. Now conservation organisations have started to mobilise all stakeholders to combat the illegal trade that targets animals – some to the edge of extinction.

The Nigeria Customs Services (NCS) yesterday brought seven men before the Federal High Court in Lagos for alleged illegal possession dealing, assembling, storing, smuggling and trading in pangolin skin and elephant's ivory.

Two men have been arrested in Bulawayo after they were found in possession of 20,5 kilogrammes of elephant tusks.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT) recently announced the confiscation of 75 wood planks that are believed to have been illegally harvested in the Kavango region area after a tip-off from the public, an official said this week. All harvesting of trees and wood, anywhere in Namibia, is governed by the Forest Act and its Regulations. "The planks are believed to have been illegally harvested from farms that are in Ncamagoro in the Kavango West Region," MEFT spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda said in a statement.

A Namibian and a Chinese national were arrested in Okahandja on Saturday after they were found in possession of 27 protected plant species. The confiscated items included four Elephant's foot plants, 15 Cyphostemma, eight Commiphora, in addition to five plastic bags containing Welwitchia seeds and 12 bags filled with a variety of unidentified seeds. The suspects were arrested after ministry officials followed up on video footage they had obtained, showing two persons collecting the protected plants, reportedly around Usakos.

Last week, the People's Court of Hanoi, Vietnam, sentenced three women and one man to a collective 18 years imprisonment for the illegal transportation and trade of 984kg of pangolin scales, one of the largest cases of wildlife trading investigated in Vietnam's history.

Facts before court were that on 1 April 2022 the duo whilst acting together possessed a prescribed trophy namely elephant ivory weighing 25 KG and valued at K 90,467 without a certificate of ownership issued by the Director General the Zambia Wildlife Authority.

In einer weiteren gemeinsamen Operation von Beamten des Umweltministeriums, Spezialkräften und der Abteilung für geschützte Ressourcen der namibischen Polizei, wurde ein Verdächtiger in der Sambesi-Region festgenommen, nachdem er im Besitz von drei Elefantenstoßzähnen angetroffen wurde. Er bot die Stoßzähne einem verdeckten Ermittler zum Verkauf an. Der 33 Jahre alte Verdächtige wurde am 14. Juli in Katima Mulilo verhaftet. Die drei Elefantenstoßzähne waren laut des Berichts des Umweltministeriums in 13 Stücke geschnitten.

Three suspects were arrested for poaching at Tala Game Reserve, outside Pietermaritzburg, after police and a private security company responded to the scene. The three suspects were found with a waterbuck carcass on Saturday.

Two men were on Saturday arrested after being found in possession of protected plant species at Okahandja.
The duo, a Namibian and Chinese national were found with four Adenia pechuelii (elephant foot) plants; 15xCyphostema plants; eight Commphoras plants; five plastics containing Welwitschia seeds and 12x plastics with differentunidentified seeds. Ministry of Environment spokesperson Romeo Muyunda stated that this came after Ministry officials followed up on avideo in which the two suspects were seen collecting protected plants reportedly in the area of Usakos.

Field rangers at the Tygerberg Nature Reserve managed to apprehend poachers who were illegally removing bulbs and indigenous plants from one of the hiking trails. On Tuesday, 12 July 2022, the Tygerberg Nature Reserve staff were alerted by a visitor to three individuals who seemed to be removing plants from one of the hiking trails.

South Africa, with its abundant wildlife, suffers from a scourge of poaching that has become a significant challenge in the country's national parks. In particular, the poaching of rhinos for their horns has increased dramatically since 2014, so SA National Parks (SANParks) sought out a system that could enable it to successfully counter this: one that could detect movement - specifically of people - in protected areas.

The man, who was arrested on Friday (July 8), will face charges of rhino poaching, the possession of rhino horns and the illegal possession of a firearm. Police spokesperson Motlafela Mojapelo explained in a statement that the man is one of three men suspected of rhino poaching near Gravelotte.

The environment ministry today released a statement confirming the arrest of 11 suspected poachers during the course of four law enforcement operations undertaken close to the world renowned Etosha National Park since June. Environment ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda today said the arrests, and confiscation of vehicles, cash and weapons, were the result of joint law and intelligence operations, following the discovery of 11 rhino carcasses at Etosha in June. The rhinos were all killed during poaching incidents.