Namibia: N$100 000 bounty offered for capture of rhino poachers

Save The Rhino (SRT) Trust Namibian chairman Samson !Uri#Khob has announced a reward of N$100 000 is offered for information which will lead to the arrest of the person or people behind the recent poaching of five rhinos at Palmwag concession area. !Uri#Khob said the reward money which was partly donated by the public, will be handed over by the police. “Poaching is very serious and we call upon people who have any information to come forward so that the poachers can be arrested,” !Uri#Khob said. A concerned !Uri#Khob said that SRT needs more human resources from the Namibian police to tackle poaching which is a huge concern in the Palmwag concession area. “We want more action on the ground and needs police assistance in this vast area,” !Uri#Khob said. Pamphlets printed in Otjiherero, Damara/Nama and English with information on procedures related to reporting rhino poaching were distributed in Kunene region this year. Yesterday a representative of the SRT had a meeting with the Kunene regional police chief James Nderura at Opuwo. Nderura said the media will be briefed on Friday about the discussions. Last year more than 20 rhinos were lost due to poaching in Namibia. Recently a rhino cow and her calf were poached in the Palmwag concession area. A decision to dehorn Namibia's rhinos, in an attempt to combat the rhino poaching crisis in the country, has met with a mixed response. Namibia's tourism industry is the third largest contributor to the country's GDP, and the killing of iconic wildlife such as rhinos and elephants negatively impacts on Namibia's reputation as a tourist destination. Anyone who has information of a wildlife crime being committed or planned is urged to SMS the toll-free and confidential wildlife crime alert number 55555. Source: Namibian