South Africa Tightens Rhino Hunting Rules

The South African government has announced that it will be tightening the country’s hunting rules. The Associated Foreign Press reports that in a bid to save the native rhino, hunters applying for licenses will have to provide additional information before being granted them, including passport details and information about their hunting background and experience.

The illegal rhinoceros horn trade is fueled by demand for the supposed medicinal qualities of the horn across countries in Asia. There is also a large market for rhino horn in Arab countries where it is used to make handles for daggers. Under the new rules, the home-countries of hunting applicants will be considered in order to counter any potential trade of rhino horns.

Rhinos are an endangered species. The black rhinoceros is critically endangered, and the Western Black Rhinoceros was declared extinct in 2011. Black rhinos will no longer be hunted for trophies, however any hunter who pass the new measures will be permitted to kill one white rhino a year.

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