Namibia’s proposals to lift the international ban on rhino horn trade have been rejected at a key conservation meeting in Uzbekistan.
The country had proposed lifting the ban on black and white rhino horns, but the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) voted against it, with only 30 out of 120 votes in favor.
Namibia pioneered dehorning rhinos in 1989 to combat poaching, and other southern African countries have followed suit. However, conservationists argue that legalizing the trade would stimulate demand and increase poaching.
Rhino horns are highly valued in traditional Asian medicine and as status symbols.
Black rhinos are critically endangered, with only 6,421 alive, while southern white rhinos are listed as near threatened, with a population of 15,752.
The ban on rhino horn trade has been in place since 1977, but poaching continues, with over 8,000 rhinos lost in the last decade.
