Namibia Fails to Lift Global Ban on Rhino Horn Sales

Namibia has lost its attempt to restart the international trade in white rhino horns. The proposal, which required a two-thirds majority, was rejected at a major wildlife conservation meeting. The country argued that selling horn from its large stockpiles could fund conservation. These stockpiles grew from a practice Namibia pioneered: safely cutting horns from living rhinos to make them less attractive to poachers. Opponents of the trade fear that any legal market would increase poaching by making horn more desirable. The existing global ban, established in 1977, remains in place. Namibia expressed disappointment but said it would continue to protect its rhino population.