Staff Writer
11 poached rhino carcasses were discovered since the beginning of June in the Etosha National Park.
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) spokesperson Romeo Muyunda in a statement today said all the rhinos were found without horns and they were all black rhinos.
“With our ongoing operation in Etosha National Park, we unfortunately discovered eleven (11) rhino carcasses as from the beginning June 2022 to date. All the eleven are black rhinos. Investigations indicate that the carcasses range between 3 weeks and older. This is regrettable and a strong indication that the fight against poaching is not over,” said Muyunda.
Muyunda further added that the MEFT together with the Namibian Police, the Namibia Defence Force and other partners will intensify wildlife protection and law enforcement interventions, including intensifying patrols, security and intelligence gathering in the Etosha National Park.
“No arrests have been made yet on the recent carcasses discovery, and investigations continue,” he said, highlighting that a total of 22 rhinos have been poached in the country.
In 2021 the country reported 43 cases of rhino poaching and 40 in 2020, he added.
Earlier this year in March, Environment Minister Pohamba Shifeta commended the work being done on the ground against wildlife crimes through collaborative efforts with various stakeholders like the uniformed security forces, civil society organizations, the private sector, conservancies and members of the public and said Namibia has also managed to succeed in protecting high-value, threatened and endangered species from poaching and illegal trafficking.
Shifeta said this during at the launch of Namibia’s three decades of conversation campaign.
He further boasted that Namibia has the largest population of free-roaming black rhinos in the world, and has rebuilt the white rhino population after local extinction during the colonial era.
