There are currently about 2,400 left in Africa, down from 3,400 in 1991. The continent’s white rhino population, on the other hand, continues to rise and now totals about 7,500.
Many southern African conservationists believe that the long-term solution to the rhino’s plight is farming. At next month’s Convention on Trade in Endangered Species conference in Harare, they will push to legalize trade in white rhino products, claiming that the white rhino are perfect candidates for farming.
They are more numerous than black rhino and, if farmed responsibly, can safely grow back their horns in three years. Customers in Asia would be satisfied, they say, and local farmers would earn enough money to continue buying land for rhino cultivation.
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