Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia and Angola are heading for a collision with rhino conservationists after it emerged that their governments had agreed to the sale of rhino horn powder in clinics and pharmacies.
The governments of the five states that form the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (Kaza) met in Namibia last week and resolved to sell rhino horn powder in their fight for the survival of the species which is fast heading for extinction.
Francis Nhema, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Environment and Tourism, said: “We agreed that we will demystify the rhino issue by selling horn powder in clinics as well as pharmacies in all the Kaza member states. We hope this will shift the attention of the poachers.
“Instead of going through dangerous operations where one is likely to die, or even killing the animals, walking into a pharmacy will be a safer decision,” he said.
However, the Kaza member states have ignored the fact that the market for rhinoceros horn is in Asia. Selling the powder in regional pharmacies will not do much in the fight to protect white and black rhinos.
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