Stop Imports of Endangered Rhino Trophies to U.S.

A hunter from Wisconson killed and endangered black rhino while on safari in Namibia, Africa. The United States granted permission for the American hunter, (David K. Reinke, CEO of Liberty Parts Team), to import his trophy back into the U.S. There are only 5,000 black rhinos left in the wild.

Setting a new precedent, it is first time any endangered species taken from the wild has ever been allowed to be imported into the United States.

The hunter claims that the $175,000 he paid to kill  the rhino will go towards conserving them. But killing endangered species doesn't conserve them, it encouages safari hunters to kill even more of them.

Teresa Telecky, Director of the Wildlife Department at Humane Society International says,"I hear this argument all the time, The money trophy hunters leave in the country will improve the conservation of the species. But whenever we actually investigate how much money and where it's going, we just can't find evidence to verify this. " She continues, "In fact, in this particular case, the $175,000 that this fellow left in Namibia in return for his rhino, is going into a general fund which is tapped for all sorts of things, including rural development, which might not be good for the species at all."

Tell the United States to uphold ban the trade in endangered species and stop granting permits to import safari hunt trophies.

SOURCE: http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/04/17/us-allows-endangered-rhino-trophy

Mr. John Macfarlane Sellar
Chief of Enforcement
CITES Secretariat
Maison Internationale de l’Environnement
Chatelaine-Geneva, Switzerland 1219
Tel: +41-229178293
E-mail: john.sellar@cites.org