Does anyone actually believe there is morality in that? There isn't a gentlemen or gentlewoman among them. Normally, when this type of fundraising occurs the animal is spared while the monies go to the non-profit to protect them.
Any species of rhino are among the oldest living mammals on Earth. They are considered living fossils.
According to the World Wildlife Fund this species is critically endangered. Critically endangered means their genetic diversity is in jeopardy. Now, I want to know which Rhino the Texas hunters are going to kill to be sure it isn't the one with the greatest genetic diversity in contributing to the survival of the species. The WWF and the International Rhino Foundation estimates there are slightly more than 5000 individuals left. The Rhinos were at a total population of 50 in 1962. They have a life span of 30 to 35 years, breed for the first time at the age of five, the gestation time is 15 months, the calf is weaned from the female at the age of 18 months. That means the female is only mating about every 2.5 to 3 years. If the breeding life of a female is 25 years in the wild that means she will at the best produce about 6 to 8 calves if she breeds consecutively to her death.
The population growth of these rhinos is very slow and is compromised by poachers who take their horns for illegal trade.
The rhino in the picture in the upper left is not a black rhino, it is a white rhino. All rhino are actually grey, but, they have a distictive characteristic that separates the species. The black rhino has a pointed upper lip where the white rhinos lip is squared. It is an adaptation to the difference in their diets.
Threats (click here)
Earlier in the 20th Century hunting to clear land for agriculture and human settlement was the main cause for the decline of African rhinos. However, the single most important cause for the catastrophic decline of rhinos in the last quarter of the 20th century was the demand for their horn in the Middle Eastern and Eastern Asian markets. Historically, in medieval Europe, rhino horn was fashioned into chalices believed to have the power of detecting poisons. In the Far East, and in the many East Asian communities elsewhere, the horn is still used as a fever-reducing ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine; and in the Middle East it is carved and polished to make prestigious dagger handles.
Risks
Stockpile management is necessary to ensure horns collected from the field are secured in stockpiles, and therefore reduce the risk of leakage to the illegal market. However, stockpile management has traditionally received relatively little attention. Yet, in many places stockpiles continue to grow. In Africa, TRAFFIC has worked on this issue for over three years and has now documented almost 17 tonnes of horn with some stockpiles growing at 20% every four years. TRAFFIC also continues to assist a number of Parties strengthen horn stockpile management. Whilst TRAFFIC has witnessed marked improvements in levels of management recently, there remains room for improvement in many African range States. Further, quantities of horns and levels of stockpile management in Asian range States (especially India and Nepal) and consumer nations (e.g. China and Yemen) are not fully understood. Weaknesses in stockpile management may provide a loophole for leakage to illegal markets, thus undermining other field conservation efforts.
By Kerry Sheridan
October 25, 2013 3:57 PM
The
permit is expected "to sell for at least $250,000, possibly up to $1
million. The Conservation Trust Fund for Namibia's Black Rhino will
receive 100 percent of the sale price," said the statement.
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.
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 United States....
