Namibia recorded a 97.9% increase in rhino poaching last year, reaching the highest losses since 2015, a new report has shown.
According to the national report on Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement in Namibia for the year 2022, Namibia experienced a distressing surge in rhino poaching compared to 2021.
“Criminals tend to focus on the softest targets. After an ill-prepared Namibia was hit hard by a first wave of poaching that crested in 2015, a concerted response with wide-ranging international support temporarily shifted the attention of rhino syndicates elsewhere. Losses were suppressed in 2016 and ‘17, yet increased once more to a new spike in 2018,” the government analysis revealed.
The report notes that more stringent countermeasures reduced known poaching losses to less than 50 animals a year in 2020 and 2021.
Despite the measures, “in 2022, losses almost doubled again to a spike comparable to 2015. Clearly, the poachers keep coming for more and Namibia is in for a very tough road ahead.”
The report also reveals a concerning trend regarding the recovery of rhino horns. It stated: “Yet the number of rhino horns seized by law enforcement has decreased substantially – only 5 horns were recovered while 93 rhinos were poached (horns cannot always be matched to carcasses).”
This decrease in recovered horns highlights the challenges faced by law enforcement agencies in combating the illegal trade.
Highlighting the importance of proactive measures, the report highlights “the 47 pre-emptive arrests achieved in 2022 (out of a total of 75 rhino-related arrests) again saved numerous rhinos”.
The pre-emptive arrests provide a glimmer of hope in the fight against rhino poaching, demonstrating the effectiveness of proactive law enforcement efforts.
The report emphasises the urgency of addressing the slow progress in finalising rhino court cases, stating, “since 2015, a total of 236 rhino court cases have been opened, but only 25 of these (10.6%) had been completed at the end of 2022.”
The backlog in court cases is reported to impede the effective prosecution of offenders as the country grieves the concerning conviction rate.
“Of the 682 suspects arrested between 2015 and 2022, only 40 (5.9%) have been convicted to date. These statistics underscore the need for immediate action to ensure effective rhino prosecutions,” states the report.
Acknowledging the challenges faced by Namibia’s judicial system, the report states, “the Namibian judicial system faces a range of challenges in dealing with high rates of crime and ensuring justice is served; a central hurdle is a growing backlog of cases on the court rolls.”
It recognises the efforts made in reducing the backlog through Special Courts dedicated to wildlife cases, stating “during 2022, Special Courts dedicated to hearing wildlife cases proved to be an effective tool in reducing the current backlog.”
The report characterises the illegal trade in rhino horn as organized crime, stating “this is organised crime – criminal gang activity, racketeering and money laundering on a large scale.”
The National Report Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement in Namibia for the Year 2022 emphasises the urgent need for strengthened efforts to combat rhino poaching and protect these magnificent creatures.
It calls for enhanced law enforcement strategies, improved prosecution rates, and collaborative international efforts to tackle the organized criminal networks involved in the illegal wildlife trade.
According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, the government department has dehorned approximately 2,500 rhinos nationally and spent over N$60 million in a decade in the exercise aimed at curbing poaching.
According to the Ministry, it costs about U$1,500 (N$28,500 at the current exchange rate) to dehorn one rhino.
