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.
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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.
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SA_2022_07_LOOK_ Smugglers jailed for trading nearly one tonne of pangolin scales_IOL.pdf | 1.27 MB |
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.
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SA_2022_07_Three suspects arrested for poaching at Tala Game Reserve_IOL.pdf | 234.09 KB |
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.
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NAM_2022_07_Two arrested for protected plants species_Informante.pdf | 59.46 KB |
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.
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SA_2022_07_A Meerkat that prevents poaching in the Kruger Park_ITWeb.pdf | 588.33 KB |
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.
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SA_2022_07_Rhino poacher nabbed near Gravelotte_Reviewonline.pdf | 488.51 KB |
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.
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NAM_2022_07_Eleven suspected Etosha poachers behind bars_Namibian Sun.pdf | 675.9 KB |
Three men who had allegedly poached the four rhinos and were able to dehorn three of them, appeared in the Bushbuckridge Magistrate's Court on Monday July 4.
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SA_2022_07_Four Kruger rhinos killed_three dehorned_Lowvelder.pdf | 410.63 KB |
A special court established in Uganda, called the Standards, Utilities and Wildlife Court, was "critical to the country's economic development", then Chief Justice Bart Katureebe noted at its launch in 2017. "Access to justice in this area has the capacity to promote investment in critical areas of the economy, protection of the environment, public health and ethical trade practices," he said. Between July 2020 and June 2021, the court handled 468 wildlife crime cases.
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UGA_2022_07_Ugandas special court clamps down on wildlife crime_Oxpeckers.pdf | 1021.64 KB |
Uitkoms - As the population of Farm Uitkoms grows, crimes and social ills such as poaching, stock theft and drug and alcohol abuse are skyrocketing. Farm Uitkoms, housing mainly marginalised Namibians some 160km north-east of Okahandja, is seen as the epitome of self-sustainability in terms of government resettlement efforts. In 2008, retired veteran politician Dr Libertina Amathila, who at the time held the portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister, vigorously spearheaded a campaign that saw the marginalised San community resettled at this farm.
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NAM_2022_07_Poaching rife around farm Uitkoms_New Era.pdf | 472.69 KB |
Three alleged poachers were arrested in the Kruger National Park after allegedly killing four rhinos on Friday July 1.
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SA_2022_07_Three alleged poachers arrested in the Kruger National Park_Lowvelder.pdf | 133.45 KB |
A tourist who heard gunshots in the Kruger National Park helped rangers arrest three suspected poachers after they allegedly killed and dehorned rhinos.
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SA_2022_07_Tourist helps nab alleged rhino poachers in the Kruger National Park_TimesLive.pdf | 421.17 KB |
Tanzanian wildlife authorities on Saturday warned poachers to stop the malpractice before they faced the full force of the law.
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TAN_2022_07_Tanzania warns poachers to stop malpractice_News Ghana.pdf | 160.19 KB |
The Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, has called on members of conservancies to refrain from poaching and misuse of funds. Furthermore, he stated the ministry has unearthed a possible syndicate of poaching, involving conservancy members.
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NAM_2022_07_Minister warns conservancy members against poaching_New Era.pdf | 411.41 KB |