Poaching for meat remains one of the central challenges in Namibia’s efforts to protect wildlife, according to a new report.
Since peaking in 2019, so-called meat species have consistently topped the list of targeted animals, accounting for up to half of all wildlife crimes in some years.
According to the National Namibia Report on Wildlife Protection 2024, a steady decline in poaching-for-meat cases over the past five years has contributed to an overall drop in recorded wildlife crimes.
“Yet the sector continues to dominate law enforcement efforts, impact wildlife populations, and adversely affect wildlife economies and rural livelihoods," the report warns.
Despite this, meat poaching cases have steadily declined since a 2019 peak of 265, with 136 cases recorded in 2024, accounting for 40% of all wildlife crimes reported this year.
Complex motivations
The report notes that anecdotal evidence from 2024 suggests many cases go unreported, mainly due to a lack of evidence.
“Meat poaching presents a complex challenge with significant variations regarding the motivations and methods for poaching," the authors explain.
Current data does not distinguish between subsistence and commercial meat poaching for financial gain, the report adds.
It highlights that, as markets for poached meat are almost entirely local, understanding the motives and drivers behind poaching is essential to tackling the problem effectively.
“Holistic interventions that reach beyond law enforcement are urgently required," the report advises.
Registered criminal cases show national parks, community conservancies, private reserves and farmland are all affected by poaching for bush meat.
Renew focus areas
The report warns that law enforcement currently focuses disproportionately on bushmeat poaching in impoverished rural communities, where detection is easier, cases involve fewer suspects and trafficking networks are smaller.
“Commercial-level bushmeat poaching is a typical organised-crime sector, using well-established criminal networks to poach, transport and launder meat into legal markets, with effective tactics to evade law enforcement,” the report explains.
The report found that current data for registered meat poaching cases reflects only cases involving giraffe, buffalo, zebra, antelope and warthog killings.
A significant number of other species are killed for meat, including monitor lizards, aardvarks, porcupines, springhares, hares, cane rats and a variety of birds. Other small mammals are likely also killed for food.
Since peaking in 2019, so-called meat species have consistently topped the list of targeted animals, accounting for up to half of all wildlife crimes in some years.
According to the National Namibia Report on Wildlife Protection 2024, a steady decline in poaching-for-meat cases over the past five years has contributed to an overall drop in recorded wildlife crimes.
“Yet the sector continues to dominate law enforcement efforts, impact wildlife populations, and adversely affect wildlife economies and rural livelihoods," the report warns.
Despite this, meat poaching cases have steadily declined since a 2019 peak of 265, with 136 cases recorded in 2024, accounting for 40% of all wildlife crimes reported this year.
Complex motivations
The report notes that anecdotal evidence from 2024 suggests many cases go unreported, mainly due to a lack of evidence.
“Meat poaching presents a complex challenge with significant variations regarding the motivations and methods for poaching," the authors explain.
Current data does not distinguish between subsistence and commercial meat poaching for financial gain, the report adds.
It highlights that, as markets for poached meat are almost entirely local, understanding the motives and drivers behind poaching is essential to tackling the problem effectively.
“Holistic interventions that reach beyond law enforcement are urgently required," the report advises.
Registered criminal cases show national parks, community conservancies, private reserves and farmland are all affected by poaching for bush meat.
Renew focus areas
The report warns that law enforcement currently focuses disproportionately on bushmeat poaching in impoverished rural communities, where detection is easier, cases involve fewer suspects and trafficking networks are smaller.
“Commercial-level bushmeat poaching is a typical organised-crime sector, using well-established criminal networks to poach, transport and launder meat into legal markets, with effective tactics to evade law enforcement,” the report explains.
The report found that current data for registered meat poaching cases reflects only cases involving giraffe, buffalo, zebra, antelope and warthog killings.
A significant number of other species are killed for meat, including monitor lizards, aardvarks, porcupines, springhares, hares, cane rats and a variety of birds. Other small mammals are likely also killed for food.
