There's a thin line between the marketing of, and the genuine conservation of, wildlife. In the past few weeks that line was definitively crossed by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs. By DON PINNOCK.
Ignoring the findings of environmental organisations, its contractual compliance with CITES, a worldwide online petition and its own strategic plan for rhinos, the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) is about to open the door to the commodification of rhino horn. This follows the permitting of 800 lion skeletons a year to be exported for fake tiger-bone wine and regulations for the hunting of leopards as soon as the present year-long moratorium is lifted.
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