Otjozondjupa Regional Council has welcomed the creation of the special wildlife court in the region as a means to speedily handle cases and deter would-be offenders dealing in protected game products.

This sentiment was shared by Otjozondjupa Regional Council Chairperson, Marlene Mbakera, during a courtesy call to the Governor's office by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs at the Otjiwarongo.

According to Mbakera, the region's central location makes it an entry and exit zone for poachers.

Four suspected poachers were arrested on Friday after they were allegedly found camping on the Otjipaue game farm in the Kalkfeld area with dried game meat in their possession.

Unit Commander for Police Community Affairs in the Otjozondjupa Region, Inspector Maureen Mbeha, said in a media statement that the male suspects, aged 20, 24, 35, and 52, were charged with illegal hunting of huntable game.

The suspects were allegedly found to have slaughtered an oryx on Farm Otjipaue. 

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism's Executive Director says poaching of rhinos and elephants in Namibia has decreased significantly over the years. 

This year, Teofilus Nghitila says 48 rhinos and eight elephants were poached.
Nghitila says this year's poaching statistics are better compared to 2018, when 84 rhinos and 27 elephants were poached. 

He attributed the poaching reduction to the measures they have put in place. 

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism carried out the dehorning of rhinos at Etosha National Park in order to combat poaching in the country.

The Ministry says the dehorning of all rhinos is also a means of safeguarding them from poaching activities and preventing them from causing harm to each other.

Since 2014, more than 2,000 rhinos have undergone the dehorning process.

During the recent operation, only two rhinos were dehorned.

The Otjozondjupa police have launched an investigation into a poaching incident involving a black rhino bull that was allegedly shot and killed on a private game farm near Otjituuo in the Grootfontein district.

In an interview with Nampa on Friday, the Namibian Police Force Unit Commander for Community Affairs in the region, Inspector Maureen Mbeha, said the poaching is suspected to have happened on the farm between April 1 and May 1, 2023, as the crime scene is old and was only discovered this week.

Poaching, compensation policies, and mismanagement of conservancy funds are annoying to those involved in the Community-Based Natural Resources Management Program in Kunene.

They raised these concerns to the sub-committee on Environment, Forestry, and Tourism, which is on a fact-finding mission of various conservancies within Kunene. 

Conservancies were established to assist rural communities to generate income and bring development through the sustainable use of natural resources. 

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism urges the public to follow guidelines to keep themselves secure and safe during the festive season and to ensure that wildlife crimes, and poaching incidences, in particular, do not occur during this holiday.

The Environment Ministry's Spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda during an interview with nbc's GMN programme said, holidaymakers venturing into places populated by wildlife should consider environmental sustainability. 

Muyunda also expressed concern over littering by holidaymakers.