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Mail & Guardian
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WILDLIFE CRIME

World's largest rhino horn trafficking case ends with conviction of Dawie Groenewald

After more than 15 years, hunting safari operator Dawie Groenewald, described as the mastermind behind the world's largest rhino horn trafficking investigation, has been…

3 min read
Freshwater fish, sharks, rays, endemic plants and iconic mammals are among the country’s fastest-declining species, as invasive species, reduced freshwater flows and pollution intensify. (Wikimedia Commons)
CLIMATE CHANGE SOUTH AFRICA

Illegal wildlife trade, habitat loss and climate stress driving rapid biodiversity decline in SA

Freshwater fish, sharks, rays, endemic plants and iconic mammals are among the country’s fastest-declining species, as invasive species, reduced freshwater flows and pollution…

  • Sheree Bega
8 min read
Tiny stowaways — disease-carrying ticks — can be hidden beneath the armoured scales of pangolins, the world’s most illegally trafficked mammals.
BIODIVERSITY

Hidden hitchhikers: Ticks on trafficked pangolins pose health threats

Scientists warn that ticks carried by trafficked pangolins may spread pathogens across continents, affecting people and animals

  • Sheree Bega
3 min read
The men were sentenced for poaching 303 rate specied found in the Northern and Western Cape. Photo: WWF
BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

Illegal succulent trade is the Western Cape’s most prevalent wildlife crime

CapeNature says 650 species and more than 1.2 million harvested wild plants have been seized in the past four years

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read
A parliamentary committee received a briefing on Wednesday about how a sophisticated criminal syndicate pulled off a brazen heist at the headquarters of the North West Parks and Tourism Board, stealing 51 rhino horns
51 RHINO HORNS

Parliamentary committee briefed on theft of 51 rhino horns

We did all we could to make sure our vault was highly secured, says North West Parks and Tourism Board

  • Sheree Bega
7 min read
Corruption is the main enabler for wildlife crimes, with rangers, who are meant to protect nature, at the centre of these crimes, according to the Wildlife Justice Commission
CORRUPTION

Corruption at the helm of wildlife crimes, Wildlife Justice Commission report finds

The international organisation has released a study on the link between corruption and wildlife crimes

  • Lesego Chepape
4 min read
CANINE UNIT

Canine hero Sasa’s victory against wildlife crime in Mozambique

The dog’s help in busting a smuggler is another blow to poaching and the illegal wildlife trade

  • Peace Parks Foundation
8 min read
Rats assemble: Two nonprofits are training African giant pouched rats to detect smuggled contraband in shipping containers. (Photo courtesy of APOPO)
APOPO

African rats are being used to sniff out wildlife crime

Two nonprofits are training African giant pouched rats to detect smuggled contraband in shipping containers

  • Sheree Bega
8 min read
231 rhinos have been killed for their horns so far this year. (Photo by Deon Raath/Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
ILLICIT TRADE

Rhino poaching must be tackled as crime crisis, not as a conservation crisis

Wildlife Justice Commission says law enforcement agencies must address it as transnational organised crime

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read
A South African Park authority ranger prepares tools to open the carcass of a poached and mutilated white rhino as a South African Police Services forensic investigators collects evidences on the killing September 12, 2014 at Kruger National Park. As investigators comb a scene of a dehorned rhino in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, its horn is likely to have already been smuggled out of the country to Asia, highlighting the extent of organised poaching cartels threatening the endangered species. AFP PHOTO/MARCO LONGARI (Photo by MARCO LONGARI / AFP)
ATTORNEY GENERAL ALLIANCE AFRICA

Direct jail sentences a win in fight against South Africa’s illegal wildlife trade

Collaboration between the various state agencies and specialist prosecutors are needed to break the illicit value chain of wildlife trafficking

  • Sheree Bega
6 min read