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by Ellanie Smit
The controversial hunting permit of a black rhino in Namibia that was auctioned to a Texas hunter earlier this year may be cancelled.
The permit was sold by the Dallas Safari Club to Corey Knowlton for N$3.7 million (US$350 000), sparking outrage internationally among animal activists and wildlife groups, especially because poaching has become a thorn in the flesh of many African countries.
After Knowlton was revealed as the winner of the controversial auction, he received so many death threats that local law enforcement and the Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) had to step in to keep him safe.
The Dallas Safari Club now says it will cancel Knowlton’s black rhino hunt if the United States Fish and Wildlife Service denies Knowlton’s request to import the rhino’s carcass as a trophy.
Knowlton has applied for a permit from the wildlife agency to bring the trophy back to the US and is still awaiting approval.
If the permit is denied, the Safari Club plans to refund Knowlton's money that was pledged to a rhino conservation fund in Namibia.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service is reportedly scrutinising Knowlton’s request, due the increasing levels of poaching in Africa.
Namibia is experiencing an increase in rhino poaching, with 18 rhino carcasses that have been discovered this year already.
The US wildlife agency has started accepting public comments on the permit application and has already heard from many of the groups that opposed the auction.
The wildlife service expects to make a decision after the public comment period ends on December 8 and will take into account the state of the rhino population in Namibia. It will also examine exactly how the auction funds will be administered.
Last year, the service granted a permit to import a sport-hunted black rhino taken in Namibia in 2009, but increased poaching since then may affect whether any more permits are approved.
According to a recent Cabinet release, black rhinos are listed in the US Endangered Species Act and therefore their products cannot be easily imported into the US.
For the import to be authorised, a lengthy process to assess the conservation and management of the particular species has to be conducted. So far, the US has only allowed one black rhino trophy to be imported into its territory, which originated from Namibia, the release said.
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism previously said the in the case of Namibia’s annual rhino trophy-hunting quota, only post-reproductive males are hunted and the revenue derived from such hunts will be reinvested in rhino management, including addressing challenges such as poaching, which is a real threat to rhinoceros all over the world.
Namibia’s rhinos are protected through the Community Based Natural Resource Programme that gives communities ownership and the responsibility to protect them.
Source: The Namibian Sun
The controversial hunting permit of a black rhino in Namibia that was auctioned to a Texas hunter earlier this year may be cancelled.
The permit was sold by the Dallas Safari Club to Corey Knowlton for N$3.7 million (US$350 000), sparking outrage internationally among animal activists and wildlife groups, especially because poaching has become a thorn in the flesh of many African countries.
After Knowlton was revealed as the winner of the controversial auction, he received so many death threats that local law enforcement and the Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) had to step in to keep him safe.
The Dallas Safari Club now says it will cancel Knowlton’s black rhino hunt if the United States Fish and Wildlife Service denies Knowlton’s request to import the rhino’s carcass as a trophy.
Knowlton has applied for a permit from the wildlife agency to bring the trophy back to the US and is still awaiting approval.
If the permit is denied, the Safari Club plans to refund Knowlton's money that was pledged to a rhino conservation fund in Namibia.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service is reportedly scrutinising Knowlton’s request, due the increasing levels of poaching in Africa.
Namibia is experiencing an increase in rhino poaching, with 18 rhino carcasses that have been discovered this year already.
The US wildlife agency has started accepting public comments on the permit application and has already heard from many of the groups that opposed the auction.
The wildlife service expects to make a decision after the public comment period ends on December 8 and will take into account the state of the rhino population in Namibia. It will also examine exactly how the auction funds will be administered.
Last year, the service granted a permit to import a sport-hunted black rhino taken in Namibia in 2009, but increased poaching since then may affect whether any more permits are approved.
According to a recent Cabinet release, black rhinos are listed in the US Endangered Species Act and therefore their products cannot be easily imported into the US.
For the import to be authorised, a lengthy process to assess the conservation and management of the particular species has to be conducted. So far, the US has only allowed one black rhino trophy to be imported into its territory, which originated from Namibia, the release said.
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism previously said the in the case of Namibia’s annual rhino trophy-hunting quota, only post-reproductive males are hunted and the revenue derived from such hunts will be reinvested in rhino management, including addressing challenges such as poaching, which is a real threat to rhinoceros all over the world.
Namibia’s rhinos are protected through the Community Based Natural Resource Programme that gives communities ownership and the responsibility to protect them.
Source: The Namibian Sun