Legalizing the Sale of Rhino Horn May Only Endanger the Animals More

MoreSee What Happened to the Animals on the Original Endangered Species ListAfrican Lions to Be Protected as Endangered SpeciesSee 50 of the World’s Most Endangered Monuments Before They’re Gone When South Africa’s high court overturned a six-year ban on the domestic sale of rhinoceros horn January 20, it reignited a simmering debate over the best way to save the iconic, and threatened, African animal. Should rhino horn, like elephant ivory, be completely banned from the market, or should the horns, which can be harvested in a painless process that leaves the rhino alive, be sold at a profit in order to fund the fight against poachers driving the rhino to extinction? Rhino horn has been banned from international trade since 1977, when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) deemed rhinos under threat. But it wasn’t until 2009 that South Africa, which is home to 80% of the world’s rhino population, followed suit with a ban on domestic sales. Game ranchers were left with stockpiles of previously harvested horn and herds of rhinos increasingly at risk from poachers. Two of those ranchers, holding stockpiled horns worth an estimated $300 million on the black market, sued the government. Read More: Inside the New Weapon Against Poachers The ban was overturned on a technicality. South Africa’s Minister for Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, says she will appeal. If she fails, South African ga...
Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Asia black market animal CITES Poaching rhino horn South Africa Wildlife Trafficking Source Type: news