According to the spokesperson of the Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT), Romeo Muyunda, Namibia has lost at least 63 rhinos to poaching, of which 41 are black rhinos and 22 are white rhinos, since the beginning of 2022. This year’s poaching cases include 26 rhinos poached in the Etosha National Park, 22 rhino on private farms and 15 rhinos on custodianship farms. Namibia recorded 44 (43?) rhinos poached in 2021, 42 in 2020, 57 in 2019, 83 in 2018, and 55 in 2017.
Romeo Muyunda further revealed that 106 suspects have been arrested since January 2022 in Namibia, of which 44 are linked to crimes related to rhino poaching and 62 to crimes related to elephant poaching. Out of 106 suspects, 93 are Namibians, eight are from Angola and five from Zambia.
Namibia is home to a third of the entire remaining population of back rhino on the planet and the second largest white rhino population in the world after South Africa. The country also has the largest population of free-roaming black rhinos as well as the largest population of black rhinos in protected areas.
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