Swaziland to ask UN body to sell its rhino horn stockpile

Stockpiles of Elephant and Rhino horns stacked at Kenya Wildlife Services headquarters' stores. President Uhuru Kenyatta will burn the tonnes of ivories on April 31. [Photo: James Mwangi]

Swaziland has submitted a proposal to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to sell its rhino horn stocks to help pay for anti-poaching efforts, according to a copy of the submission obtained by Reuters.

Swaziland’s bid is a surprise after neighbouring South Africa, which will host the next major CITES conference in September, decided not to push to loosen a global ban in trade in rhino horn in force since 1977.

It also comes against the backdrop of a surge in poaching of rhinos for the animal’s horn, which is coveted in Vietnam and other Asian countries as an ingredient in traditional medicine. A record 1,305 rhinos were illegally killed in Africa last year.

For Swaziland’s proposal to succeed, it will need to get two-thirds of the countries attending the September meeting to support it - a difficult task as the issue sharply divides conservationists.