South African police chief General Khehla Sithole has pledged a comprehensive investigation after the “senseless” killing of decorated anti-poaching officer Lt Col Leroy Brewer. Brewer, 49, was driving to work in Mbombela around 6:30 am on Tuesday, March 17, when he was ambushed and shot by an undetermined number of gunmen…
Angola’s Ministry of Environment is launching a new wildlife conservation initiative to assess the impact of poaching, and strengthen legal protections and enforcement. Aristófanes Fontes, the director of the National Institute of Biodiversity and Conservation Areas, tells state news agency ANGOP that national training, a licensing program and a law…
The Government of Botswana says that this week’s gripping news of 90 elephant poaching fatalities in the country is misleading and sensationalized. Thato Raphaka, the secretary for the Ministry of Lands, said Wednesday that Botswana’s findings are not consistent with data attributed to Elephants Without Borders (EWB), which has been…
Environmental groups in the Cape Verde islands praised authorities for the arrest of four men who are charged with killing protected sea turtles, the first such arrests since tougher wildlife legislation was enacted in 2017. Biosfera, an NGO based on São Vicente, thanked police working in Santo Antão who pulled…
The United States has issued an arrest warrant for a South African hunting guide accused of illegally shooting elephants inside Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe and bribing officials to have the ivory released. The U.S. Department of Justice says that 44-year-old Hanno Van Rensburg took an unnamed Colorado resident on…
Rescue dogs have taken center stage in the fight to protect wildlife from poachers in Zambia. The Working Dogs for Conservation program has trained the dogs to identify everything from wire snare traps, to guns and ammunition used in illegal hunting, to pangolin scales, rhino horn and ivory. “During our work…
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has been working on how technology can end wildlife crime – and at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) they’re showing guests how thermal imaging is helping to protect elephants and other African animals. Visitors to CES 2017 in Las Vegas had the chance Thursday…
Kenyan Tom Lalampaa, the chief program officer at the Northern Rangelands Trust conservancy, will speak Wednesday afternoon at Stanford University as he receives this year’s Stanford Bright Award. Lalampaa was selected for the 2016 award, which is given annually to an otherwise unsung hero for significant contributions to global sustainability….