Rhino fundraiser's prize - kill one

Controversial auction prize ... A Black Rhinoceros calf at the Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, NSW. Source: Supplied

A HUNTING group has said it will auction off a permit to kill an endangered black rhinoceros to raise funds to the cause of saving the black rhinoceros.

The Dallas Safari Club's executive director Ben Carter said the auction at its annual convention in January is strictly about the conservation of the black rhinoceros, the Dallas Observer reported.

There are less than 1800 remaining black rhinos in Namibia and the Dallas Safari Club has secured a special permit from the government of Namibia and approval from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, to hunt one down.

PICTURES: SAVING KENYA'S BLACK RHINOCEROS

"There is a biological reason for this hunt, and it's based on a fundamental premise of modern wildlife management: populations matter; individuals don't. By removing counterproductive individuals from a herd, rhino populations can actually grow," said Mr Carter.

"Black rhinos tend to have a fairly high mortality rate. Generally speaking, out of a population of 2000, harvesting three rhinos over a couple or three years has no impact on the health of the rhino herd at all."

DO YOU SUPPORT THE HUNTING CLUB'S AUCTION? COMMENT BELOW

The club expects to raise $750,000 with it stating every cent will be given to the Conservation Trust Fund for Namibia's Black Rhino.

Namibia has an annual quota to kill up to five black rhinos out of the southern African nation's herd population of 1,795 animals.

A single permit issued to a US hunter in 2009 to kill a black rhino fetched $175,000 for the Namibian Game Products Trust Fund which pays for conservation efforts, the US Fish and Wildlife Service stated.

Tim Van Norman, chief of the branch of permits at the FWS said the US government has not yet issued any permit to the Dallas Safari Club to return a rhino's carcass to the US.

The individual hunter who is identified as the winner of the auction would first have to pass certain background checks and the animal chosen for the hunt would have to be approved as being beneficial to the conservation of the species for the US government to allow the trophy to come back inside US borders, he said.

Van Norman said Namibia has determined that older black rhino males that have already produced offspring and are in reproductive decline are the best targets for hunting.

"Black rhinos are very territorial so you will have an older male that is keeping younger males from reproducing,'' he explained.

"By removing these older males from the population, you get an increase in the production of calves. Younger males are able to impregnate the females that are in that area so you get more offspring than from some of these older males.''

The winning hunter will have to hire a guide to lead the hunt and will be accompanied by Namibian wildlife officials.

The Humane Society of the United States described the news of the auction as "disturbing'' and vowed to campaign against the issuance of a US permit to return the trophy.

"The world is seeing a concerted effort to preserve the very few black rhinos and other rhinos who are dodging poachers' bullets and habitat destruction,'' said Wayne Pacelle, president of the HSUS.

"The last thing they need are wealthy elites from foreign lands coming in to kill them for their heads.''

He also questioned the ethics of wealthy, competitive trophy hunters who say they want to kill an animal in the name of conservation.

"Shooting a black rhino in the wild is about as difficult as shooting a parked car,'' he said.

"If these are multi-millionaires and they want to help rhinos, they can give their money to help rhinos. They don't need to accompany their cash transfer with a high caliber bullet,'' he said.

Mr Carter defended his auction.

"People are talking about 'Why don't you do a photo safari?' or whatever," he said. "Well, that's great, but people don't pay for that."

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