Back when I was fresh and new here at Liberal America, I wrote about American Hunter Corey Knowlton, who was scheduled to kill a Black Rhino after winning an auction in Texas last year. He was in a battle with the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, though, who did not know if he was actually killing it in the name of conservation, which meant he could not bring the Rhino’s head home. Poor Corey…
But worry not, because on Thursday the Fish and Wildlife Service granted permission to bring the carcasses home. Knowlton paid $350,000 last year at the Dallas Safari Club for the hunting permit. Another person also won a permit in the same auction, though he has not been named publicly. The permits were given by the Namibian government, who says it is all in the name of conservation. Apparently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service agrees, with FWS Director Dan Ashe saying:
?United States citizens make up a disproportionately large share of foreign hunters who book trophy hunts in Africa. That gives us a powerful tool to support countries that are managing wildlife populations in a sustainable manner and incentivize others to strengthen their conservation and management programs.?
Yes, because nothing says “save the Rhinos!” quite like killing them. But the Namibian government supposedly uses the money raised to fund anti-poaching efforts, which is all well and good. But what they are essentially saying is that these critically endangered Black Rhinos are worth more dead than alive.
However, it seems like all that money has not been working all that well as of late. In 2007, 13 Rhinos of all species were poached, whereas last year, 1,200 were killed. Ashe, of course, condemned that kind of Rhino killing, saying:
?The future of Africa’s wildlife is threatened by poaching and illegal wildlife trade, not responsible, scientifically managed sport hunting.?
Others argue that that distinction might not be so obvious to Namibian citizens and those who buy Rhino products abroad. Said Wayne Pacelle, president of The Humane Society:
?It is the worst sort of mixed message to give a green light to American trophy hunters to kill rhinos for their heads. When the global community is working so hard to stop people from killing rhinos for their horns, we are giving a stamp of approval to a special class of privileged elite to kill these majestic animals as a head-hunting exercise.?
Kathleen Garrigan, a spokesperson for the African Wildlife Foundation, echoes Pacelle’s concerns:
“In this day and age, sport hunting of any critically endangered species?especially a species that is seeing massive rises in poaching incidents?cannot be supported…I understand there’s a big difference between illegal trade and sport hunting, but this is a time for unity?not diluting the message of the threats facing rhinos.”
I can’t help but agree with Garrigan and Pacelle. But the FWS apparently felt that Namibia was serving the better good by killing off two of the only 5,500 remaining Black Rhinos. In contrast, on the same day they granted the importation of the Black Rhinos, the FWS denied the same request for elephant trophies from Zimbabwe, owing that to the ?inadequacy of information on Zimbabwe’s elephant management program.?
