Namibian police recover rhino horn, arrest 5 poachers

Five Namibian men were arrested on Saturday afternoon in the Kunene Region after they were found with a freshly sawn off black rhinoceros horn and a rifle, allegedly used to shoot the rhino. The five appeared before Magistrate Leena Iyambo at Opuwo on Monday afternoon. Deputy Commissioner Edwin Kanguatjivi of the Namibian Police Force's (NamPol) Public Relations Division confirmed to Nampa on Monday that the suspects are between 22 and 34 years old. They are Benjameni Shikongo, 22; Samuel Gideon, 30; Ndume Gerson, 34; Uatarakana Kature, 28; and Tjizemba Kambamba Maveriukuuni, 31. The case was postponed to 24 July for further investigation. The suspects remain in custody. According to the police and other sources, the five were travelling from Sesfontein to Opuwo when they developed a flat tyre at a foot and mouth disease (FMD) checkpoint on the Warmquelle-Opuwo road. Not changing the flat tyre led to them being stopped by a police officer, who then searched their vehicle. NamPol discovered the horn hidden inside a spare wheel and a rifle inside the vehicle. The suspects were arrested and prompted to take the police and Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) officials to the place where the rhino cow was shot and de-horned. It was further established that the rhino cow had a calf, which was nowhere to be found near the carcass of its dead mother. MET and the Save the Rhino Trust members are now searching for the calf, believed to be about two years old by air. Wildlife experts indicated that they will relocate the calf to a safer area because it could easily fall prey to predators in the same area. Source: Namibian Press Agency

Suspected Chinese rhino horn smuggling kingpin denied bail in Namibia

A CHINESE, who police believe to be the 'kingpin' in one of Namibia's biggest rhino horn smuggling cases, was denied bail by the Windhoek Magistrate's Court in Katutura yesterday. Wang Hui (40), who was remanded in custody at the Windhoek Correctional Facility, had his case transferred to the Regional Court where he is expected to appear on 25 June. He will appear alongside three other Chinese men - Li Xiaoliang (30), Li Zhibing (53), and 49-year-old Pu Xuexin - who were arrested at the Hosea Kutako International Airport in 2014. They had 14 rhino horns worth more than N$2,3 million, and a leopard skin valued at N$50 000 stashed in their luggage. The Namibian Sun reported earlier that Wang was arrested last month at a Windhoek hotel. Wang is also being investigated in connection with other poaching cases in Namibia. Windhoek-based defence lawyer Orben Sibeya appeared on behalf of Wang while Public Prosecutor Anthony Wilson appeared for the State. Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in Namibia has commented for the first time over the arrest of its citizens in the rhino horn smuggling case. Chinese Embassy director of political affairs, Wang Xuguang told the Namibian Press Agency (NAMPA) that the Chinese citizens arrested so far are too few to spoil the good standing of its nationals. “The Chinese nationals involved in illegal activities in Namibia are very few individual cases. We support the Namibian side to deal with them in strict accordance with the law.” the statement reads. The statement further reads: "The Chinese government sets great store by the protection of wildlife, including rhino. On countering wildlife poaching, our attitude is resolute. We adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards it.” He said the Chinese government has enacted laws and regulations, established joint law enforcement mechanisms incorporating multiple agencies and has taken an active role in the international law enforcement cooperation to crack down on poaching activities. Further, he said the Chinese government has been actively conducting exchanges and cooperating with some 
African countries to provide more personal training and funding for wildlife protection. While many Namibians blame Chinese nationals in the country for the increased poaching of rhinos and elephants for their horns and tusks respectively, the ambassador said his office hopes that the Namibian people can view their efforts in an objective light. The police believe Wang Hui to be the 'kingpin' in one of Namibia's biggest rhino horn smuggling cases. Wang Hui is expected to appear alongside a group of three other Chinese nationals, who were in 2014 caught with 14 rhino horns worth more than N$2,3 million, as well as a leopard skin valued at N$50 000 stashed in their luggage while they were on their way to Hong Kong via Johannesburg, South Africa. - Nampa/Namibian

Fourth Chinese suspected poacher arrested in Namibia rhino horn smuggling scandal

THE three Chinese men accused of trying to smuggle 14 rhinoceros horns out of Namibia in March last year could be joined in the dock by a compatriot, after another suspect was arrested in connection with their case this week. The fourth suspect to be arrested about the alleged attempt to smuggle rhino horns and a leopard skin out of Namibia on 24 March last year is a 40-year-old Chinese resident of Otjiwarongo, Wang Hui, who was apprehended in Windhoek on Monday evening. A police spokesperson, deputy commissioner Edwin Kanguatjivi, said yesterday the police have been on Wang's trail since the arrest of three other Chinese nationals who are charged with having attempted to smuggle 14 rhino horns and a leopard skin out of Namibia in March last year. Wang left the country when the three men were arrested, though, Kanguatjivi said. Wang appeared before Magistrate George Mbundu in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court in Katutura on Wednesday. At this stage, he has been charged with unlawfully dealing in controlled wildlife products. His case was postponed to 10 June after public prosecutor Anthony Wilson informed the magistrate that the prosecutor general would have to decide if Wang should be added as an accused to the case of the other three alleged rhino horn traffickers. Wang is being kept in custody in the meantime. His three compatriots - Li Xiaoliang (31), Li Zhibing (53), and Pu Xuexin (49) - were arrested at Hosea Kutako International Airport on 24 March last year, after 14 rhino horns and a leopard skin were found in two suitcases that Li Zhibing and Li Xiaoliang had checked in as part of their luggage on a flight with which they were planning to leave Namibia. The three men claimed during a bail hearing in May last year that they did not know what the suitcases in their possession contained. Li Zhibing told a magistrate during their bail hearing that a Chinese citizen living in Zambia had asked him to take the suitcases with him to China. He said he was promised US$3 000 as payment if he delivered the suitcases to someone in Shanghai. He also told the court that he had asked Li Xiaoliang to book one of the suitcases in as part of his luggage. The court was further told during the bail hearing that the three men would be accommodated by a Chinese friend of theirs at Otjiwarongo, and that the same friend was willing to pay their bail, if the court granted them bail. Li, Li and Pu are scheduled to appear in the Windhoek Regional Court again on 24 June on two main charges of unlawful export of controlled wildlife products, alternatively unlawfully dealing in or possessing controlled wildlife products, and a third main charge of the acquisition, use, possession or taking out of Namibia of property that forms part of the proceeds of unlawful activities. Source: Namibian

Namibia ban private guns in parks as 2015 rhino body count rises to 66

In an effort to curb an upsurge in wildlife crimes, Minister of Environment and Tourism Pohamba Shifeta says no private guns would be allowed into national parks following a series of illegal poaching of rhinos and elephants. Not all carcasses of rhinos and elephants that have been found since the beginning of 2015 showed signs of poaching, Shifeta has revealed. He said some of the animals could have died due to natural causes while some died fighting among themselves. "Some of them it is because of fighting. They fight a serious fight. That is why we have to conduct post mortems on all the carcasses to determine the causes of death," he said.

About 60 rhinos were found in the Etosha National Park, while six were found in the Palmwag area in the Kunene Region since the beginning of this year. Poaching figures have shown that last year, 24 rhinos and 78 elephants were killed. This, after an extended period of low wildlife crime in Namibia. Shifeta is, however, not convinced that the environment and tourism wardens have not detected or arrested anyone in the parks. He said some carcasses were found close to each other, hence they have to do ballistic investigations to see whether the bullets are coming from ministry riffles or not. Shifeta said he found out that people have been entering the park with private guns - a situation he says creates room for poachers. "Currently, we started to test all the rifles. I heard there are people with private guns and I said no private guns anymore on the premises. We are going to get there and we are going to arrest a lot of people. If you have a gun, keep it away from the park. Leave your gun at the police station, they welcome to keep your gun even up to 10 years. I could see resistance, especially some 'white colleagues' saying that they are not the ones doing it. I told them I don't know who is doing it. What they do is seal their guns, but you can use and seal it later," he said. With the poached rhinos in Etosha, he said some carcasses are too close to the gate for officials, including a huge presence of law enforcement officers, not to have detected any poaching. "How can incidences happen next to the gate undetected? Some happen next to the waterholes but no one detects them. It is like someone taking money under your pillow while you are there. I want to understand, how can these people be from outside? I want a report, although we already suspect people inside," he demanded. He said poaching is mainly concentrated in the the north and south west of the country. "I went there and the situation looks normal to them. I asked them: 'Do you really understand what the public feels'? It's an area that is fenced, but you have not captured anyone and you don't have new ideas. You go to bed and you have no idea. I warned them they should not be surprised if this week we make a serious move there with immediate effect ... The situation cannot be left uncontained," he reacted. Shifeta said there is a clear requirement for a strategy to upgrade law enforcement and wildlife crime prevention capacity in the country, as well as for immediate action that should be part of, and feed into, the overall strategy. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism has been working with other law enforcement and conservation agencies to put short- and long-term strategic measures in place to stop poaching and illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products. The measures involve issues of human capacity, surveillance, patrolling and detection. Currently, members of the Namibian Police Force (NamPol) have been deployed in the Etosha National Park, the Bwabwata National Park and the Palmwag tourism concession area. NamPol and the Namibian Defence Force are also conducting regular aerial patrols. Shifeta assured that investigations would continue in all areas where illegal hunting of rhinos and elephants were reported. "We continue to invest more resources in combating illegal hunting of our rhinos and elephants. The situation can be described as a priority crime and therefore more resources need to be invested in our efforts to stop these illegal activities," he added. - Source: New Era/NAMPA/

Namibian govt doubles whistle-blowers pay as 2015 rhino poaching toll hits 60

IN a desperate bid to track down elusive poachers, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism has increased the reward money of whistle-blowers on poaching from N$30 000 to N$60 000. Tourism minister Pohamba Shifeta said government would rely on anyone who has information on poaching incidences to come forward as one of its efforts to put an end to the increasing illegal activities. Shifeta yesterday said that poachers were targeting Namibians to carry out their dirty work and called on members of the public to speak out if they know something while investigations into the existing cases continue. Six suspects have been arrested so far in connection with poaching in the northern parts of the country. The minister said poachers have switched from using hunting rifles to automatic guns. “Wildlife trafficking is a multi-million dollar criminal enterprise that has expanded to more than just a conservation concern,” he said. Last week, the ministry also said that several of its staff members were among the suspects being investigated over the poaching incidences, after announcing that over 60 carcasses were discovered, 54 of which were discovered in the Etosha National Park. Shifeta said the country lost 24 rhinos to poaching last year, while this year, 60 rhinos have been poached which were all discovered during aerial patrols. “As for elephants, 78 were poached in 2014, and 23 animals have been poached so far this year,” he said. Police patrols have also been increased from 40 to 140 in the Etosha National Park, Bwabwata National Park and Palmwag Tourism Concession Area. No Namibia Defence Force soldiers have been dispatched on the ground yet, as the ministry said it was still evaluating how they will be dispatched. Shifeta also said all the carcasses that were recently discovered will go through post-mortem tests to determine whether the causes of deaths were natural or a result of poaching. He said following an extended period of low wildlife crime in Namibia, there is a clear requirement for a strategy to upgrade law enforcement and wildlife crime prevention capacity in the country. “As the ministry responsible for wildlife protection, we have been working with other law enforcement and conservation agencies to put short and longer term strategic measures in place to stop the current poaching and illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products. The short and long term measures involve issues of human capacity, surveillance, patrolling and detection,” he said. However, the ministry also said it was skeptical about partnering private firms and embassies as they could be wolves in sheep's clothing. Deputy minister Tommy Nambahu said the ministry has realised that it was being outsmarted by poachers. “There is no silver bullet to this problem. We have to put in a host of measures that must be put in place. We are being outwitted by these criminals but we are sure that our efforts will yield results,” he said. Nambahu further said that the public should not panic as the ministry has the situation under control. Nambahu said that government is still researching the use of drones in Namibia before it can make use of them. Source: Namibian

US Bill to ban importation, possession and sale of African Big Five trophies

New York State Senator Tony Avella will today introduce a Bill that would ban the importation, possession, sale or transportation in the city of five species of animals native to Africa. The Bill, if it sails through, will be a huge blow to the country’s wildlife industry still smarting from last year’s US sanctions with pressure rising against the sale of live elephants to China, France and the United Arab Emirates. The Bill was drafted by the Friends of Animals’ (FoA) Wildlife Law Programme director Michael Harris. The legislation would protect the African elephant, lion, leopard, black rhino and white rhino. “The primary reason that each of these species is facing extinction is human sport hunting,” Harris said in a statement. “Many of these hunts are purchased by Americans, and the trophies are imported into or through the state of New York. Domestic legislation like that being proposed today is vital to any hope of long-term survival of these species.” Last April, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) suspended imports of sport-hunted African elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Tanzania over alleged questionable management practices. USFWS said “anecdotal evidence, such as the widely publicised (cyanide) poisoning last year of 300 elephants in Hwange National Park, suggests that Zimbabwe’s elephants are also under siege”. “Given the current situation on the ground in both Tanzania and Zimbabwe, the Service is unable to make positive findings required under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) and the Endangered Species Act to allow import of elephant trophies from these countries,” USFWS said. The ban is still to be removed with local safari operators moaning on the loss of the key US market. Edita Birnkrant, campaigns director for Friends of Animals, said Americans continue to “see sport-hunting as romantic, or for that matter as ethical”. “Until we can get national bans put in place to reduce the number of sport-hunted African big 5 species brought into this country, it is vital that states like New York, where a large number of these trophies are imported into because JFK is a major point of entry from Africa, take action on their own,” Birnkrant said. Birnkrant said while hunters argue that without sport hunting, African governments would not have any money for conservation, “sport hunting only further imperils African wildlife”. The move also comes as pressure is being piled on Zimbabwe to stop exportation of baby elephants. Government insists the elephant population, at 43 000, has exceeded its carrying capacity at Hwange National Parks adding that revenue realised would be channelled towards conservation purposes. An animal rights group, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), has ratcheted up pressure against the live animal sales advising Minister of Environment, Water and Climate Saviour Kasukuwere to stop the exercise. Peta US director Pamela Anderson said she has been “deeply upset by the heart-breaking news about the 80 or so baby elephants who were torn away from their families, many even witnessing their own family’s gruesome slaughter”. Anderson said “these terrified babies are reportedly being held captive while awaiting sale to China and the United Arab Emirates, far from their homelands, where they will never see their families again and never have any semblance of a normal or happy life”. “I’m sure that you’ve heard the international outcry and the pleas that these elephants be released back to their herds. I am writing to you to urge you to do everything in your power to assist in the effort to stop such profiteering at the expense of wildlife,” Anderson wrote in a letter to Kasukuwere. Prince Mupazviriho, Environment, Water and Climate permanent secretary, was yesterday unavailable for comment on the latest onslaught on the country’s wildlife industry. Kasukuwere was also unavailable for comment. Source: Newsday, Zimbabwe

Zim court sentences Zambian poacher to 10 years over 94 kg of raw elephant ivory

HARARE, March 26 (Xinhua) -- A Zimbabwe court has sentenced a Zambian poacher to 10 years in jail for illegal possession of raw ivory. Walbita Lindunda, 38, was arrested by Zimbabwean authorities in March last year after being found with 94 kg of raw ivory worth 14, 100 U.S. dollars. Hwange Provincial Magistrate Lindiwe Maphosa this week convicted Lundinda and sentenced him to 10 years in prison for illegal possession of ivory and three months for illegal entry into the country, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said Thursday. Zimbabwe has one of Africa's prime elephant sanctuaries, home to about 100,000 elephants. But in recent years, lack of conservation funds and resources led to a surge of ivory poaching, most of which involved collusion of local and foreign perpetrators. Hwange National Park, located in the western part of the country, is hit hardest by poaching. In 2013, poachers killed more than 100 elephants in the park and countless other animals by cyanide poisoning. Despite the arrest of several local perpetrators found dosing the water pans with poison, the alleged foreign master-head who engineered the large-scale crime remains at large. Source: Online