Rhino Permit for $350,000 Legalizes Killing an Endangered Black Rhino
A recent auction organized by the Dallas Safari Club sold a hunting permit for a Black rhinoceros that fetched a $350,000 for that opportunity to fell the rare prize in Namibia's Mangetti National Park.
The auction was held in Dallas, Texas and will allow the permit holder to track down and shoot one of the animals.
A previous press release published by the Dallas Safari Club states that the money raised during the auction would go toward conservation efforts aimed at keeping the species from going extinct.
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"DSC (Dallas Safari Club) expects the permit to bring at least $250,000, perhaps up to $1 million, with 100 percent of proceeds earmarked for Namibia's rhino conservation efforts including anti-poaching patrols," the group wrote.
In order to ensure the hunt goes as planned, wildlife officials in Namibia are going to be observing the entire process. Officials will ensure that the black rhino targeted is not a young specimen, but an old male that is no longer able to breed and which poses a threat to other black rhinos due to its aggressive nature.
"These bulls no longer contribute to the growth of the population and are in a lot of ways detrimental to the growth of the population because black rhinos are very aggressive and territorial," Ben Carter, the executive director of the Dallas Safari Club, said in a statement.
"Many cases, they will kill younger, non-breeding bulls and have been known to kill calves and cows," he added.
However, animal rights and conservation supporters are criticizing the auction, insisting that it sends that wrong message and that it undermines animal conservation efforts.
"This auction is telling the world that an American will pay anything to kill their species," Jeffrey Flocken, North American regional director of the Massachusetts-based IFAW, said in a statement. "This is, in fact, making a spectacle of killing an endangered species."
