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wildlife traffickinglatest news & developments
Africa’s forest-dwelling hornbills — vital seed-dispersers in the forests of West and Central Africa — have won long-overdue international protection after countries approved a proposal to regulate their global trade. Photo: Frans van Heerden
APPENDIX II LISTING

Africa’s forest hornbills gain global protection as Cites lists species for first time

A coalition of African nations has secured new Cites controls on the international trade of hornbills amid concerns over habitat loss and surging demand for body parts

  • Sheree Bega
4 min read
Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the late former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe’s son, was arrested for attempted murder on Thursday after a shooting at his Hyde Park residence
CONSTRUCTION MAFIA

Organised Crime Index 2025: South Africa a continental hotspot for criminal networks

Human trafficking, cybercrime, drug routes and wildlife poaching are surging as South Africa becomes a regional crime hub

  • 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
A Sunda pangolin in the wild after successful rehabilitation. Photo: © M. Shavez/1StopBrunei Wildlife/ifaw
AFRICA TO ASIA WILDLIFE TRADE

Covid and crackdowns slash ivory and pangolin scale trade

Trafficking of endangered wildlife is down sharply since 2020, the Wildlife Justice Commission finds

  • Sheree Bega
6 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
The moral rot of “canned hunting” runs deep. It strips wildlife of its majesty, reducing noble creatures to commodities. Beyond ethics, this practice undermines conservation
ILLEGAL

Wildlife Justice Commission: Wildlife traffickers captured in joint operation

The suspects were attempting to sell lions illegally when they were arrested

  • Sheree Bega
2 min read
KwaZulu-Natal had the highest number of poaching incidents, with 325 rhino killed, followed by Kruger National Park (which falls in Mpumalanga and Limpopo) where 78 rhino were killed. Limpopo was next, with 59 rhinos killed on game reserves and farms. File photo
BARBARA CREECY

Rhino poaching spikes despite high conviction rate

KwaZulu-Natal remains the epicentre for poaching and the Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park appears to be fighting a losing battle against the crime

  • Lyse Comins
  • Sheree Bega
10 min read
Africa alone sees about half a million snakebites that need treatment every year, according to the World Health Organisation. (AFP)
CHAMELEONS

Landmark sentence for West Rand chameleon poacher

It has taken two animal organisations and a local community working together to halt the trade in reptiles, puppies and other animals on the side of a Johannesburg intersection

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

South Africa sees 59 fewer rhinos killed in the first half of 2022

Figures show South Africa’s efforts to combat rhino poaching pays off

  • Eunice Masson
3 min read
IVORY POACHING

A notorious wildlife smuggler is finally behind bars

Moazu Kromah, aka ‘Kampala Man’, ran a wildlife trafficking syndicate in Africa and law enforcement authorities knew it. Why did it take so long to bring him to justice and what…

  • The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime
3 min read
A juvenile leopard cat, seized by authorities during an anti-smuggling operation, is seen past suspected smugglers during a press conference announcing the seizure of trafficked exotic animals in Surabaya on March 27, 2019. (Getty)
ADAMS CASSINGA

Facebook is a ‘major enabler’ of illegal trade in wildlife

An Avaaz Investigation shows how its algorithms drag casual users into international wildlife trafficking rabbit hole

  • Sheree Bega
7 min read
BIODIVERSITY

Save forests to protect us from future pandemics — Harvard scientists

Risk of next pandemic greater than ever, scientists say, but world can act

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read
Balance: Elephants are found in 37 African countries, including Kenya. But the herds and their habitats are threatened and people remain divided over how to protect them. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)
AFRICAN ELEPHANT SPECIALIST GROUP

Poaching is wiping out Africa’s elephants

Forest elephants are on the brink of extinction and savanna elephants are now classified as endangered

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read