Rhino horn legalisation bid fails at CITES
A tray of rhino horn ornaments on sale on the outskirts of the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi. This image was captured by undercover investigators from the Dutch-based Wildlife Justice Commission A tray of rhino horn ornaments on sale on the outskirts of the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi. This image was captured by undercover investigators from the Dutch-based Wildlife Justice Commission
Johannesburg - On Monday at The Convention on the International trade of Endangered wild fauna and flora (CITES), 26 countries voted to legalise the trade in rhino horn but it was not enough to overturn the current ban.
In a secret vote during a fraught and technologically challenged vote at the 17th conference of the parties in Sandton, 100 countries voted against Swaziland's late proposal to allow trade in rhino horn.
Swaziland delivered an emotional presentation imploring parties to allow the limited, regulated trade, saying COP17 was the last bastion of hope. Responses from parties were sympathetic toward the problems faced in Swaziland but very few outwardly supported the notion.
They argued that the 11 range states would be held accountable when the rhino becomes extinct, saying they would be “managed to extinction and it was incumbent on COP to give the range states the means to protect Rhinos.”
The Born Free Association said the lifting of ban would create a mechanism whereby illegal horn could be laundered through legal means.
“Don’t believe that selling of rhino horn is the panacea to this problem,” said the Kenyan delegate during deliberations.
The Wildlife Ranching Association of SA supported the proposal, as did the Private Rhino Owners Association of SA (PROA).
“We need to show our support for Swaziland's proposal because the CITES ban on trade has clearly not helped to save the rhino ,” says Pelham Jones, chairman of the Private Rhino Owners Association (PROA). “Our militaristic approach has not worked - rhino are being killed on a daily basis, as are people trying to protect them. We have to find a better solution.”
Steven Broad, Executive Director of TRAFFIC said: “Swaziland has an enviable record of rhino protection and there is no doubt that the challenges of financing conservation they raised today are real, but against a backdrop of high poaching in key rhino range States and strong criminally-organised illegal trade flows from Africa to Asia with unpredictable demand dynamics in end markets, governments understandably voted against a legalisation of the horn trade.”
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The Star