A rich trophy hunter paid $400,000 to kill a critically endangered black rhino in Namibia in 2018 and now wants to import the skin, skull and horns of his ‘trophy’ into the USA.
The New York Times reports that, Chris Peyerk applied for a federal permit earlier this year. Under the US Endangered Species Act, it is illegal to import body parts of an endangered species. This is unless it can be justified that the hunt is beneficial to the survival of the species. According to WWF, there are 5,000 black rhino left in Africa.
The Trump administration has granted Chris Peyerk his permit, according to The Independent.
Peyerk paid a conservation organisation in Namibia to shoot and kill the rhino bull in Mangetti National Park, with the justification of the animal being 29 years old and interfering with breeding by younger bulls.
Peyerk’s payment was kept for rhino conservation and the animal’s meat was given to nearby communities.
Speaking to spokesperson for Fish and Wildlife Service Laury Parramore told The Associated Press:
‘Legal, well-regulated hunting as part of a sound management program can benefit the conservation of certain species by providing incentives to local communities to conserve the species and by putting much-needed revenue back into conservation.’
Various animal activist groups, which stand against trophy hunting, are outraged over Peyerk’s successful application to import the animal’s parts.
SOURCE: GETAWAY