Rhino horn trade ban upheld at wildlife conference

The international ban on the rhino horn trade was confirmed at the World Wildlife Conference in Panama. The African country eSwatini had asked to allow the trade again, but the proposal was not put to a vote by the committee.

Early last week, the World Species Conference began, where representatives of 160 governments agreed to protect nearly 600 plant and animal species. The conference lasts until Friday.

eSwatini is landlocked between South Africa and Mozambique and has 98 rhinos. At the two previous conferences, the country also attempted to relax the ban on international trade in rhino horn.

No rhino needs to be killed to sell enough horns, say eSwatini representatives. The earth is always supplied and to replenish it, you can also saw off horns, without finishing the animals.

In 1977, the international trade in rhinoceros horn was banned. Because the horns fetch around 30,000 to 50,000 euros per kilo, the animals are often hunted illegally. For example, horns are often sold to Asian traders, partly because in some countries horns are believed to have medicinal properties.

Some countries want to legalize the horn trade. They say they want to use the money collected by the horns for nature conservation. Opponents fear legalization could lead to large-scale rhino poaching.

At today’s conference it was also decided that Namibia can sell its white rhinos again. A strict condition is that live animals are only traded for nature conservation in other parts of Africa.

A proposal to regulate trade in one species of shark – the requiem shark – was already approved at the end of last week. As a result, more species of requiem sharks will soon be protected.

The requiem shark family includes 52 species, often caught for their fins. These are often used in shark fin soup in Asian countries. “Soon around 70% of sharks will be protected and countries will need to take action for good management,” said Luke Warwick, deputy director of the sharks and rays program at conservation organization WCS.

The decision on requiem sharks won’t take effect for another year, Reuters news agency reports. In addition, a European Union proposal on the protection of hammerhead sharks was unanimously approved.