Born Free opposes the decision reached at CITES CoP18 to permit South Africa to nearly double the number of black rhinos that can be killed as trophies, from 5 to 9 per year. There are only around 5,000 black rhinos remaining in the wild, with some 2,000 of them in South Africa. This permit increase, along with poaching, would mean that almost half of the yearly black rhino population increase could be killed.
Born Free is now working with representatives from Kenya to urge the South African delegation to give reassurances that it will not set quotas that undermine the goals of the African Rhino Conservation Plan, which aims to ensure population increases.