CITES votes no to Namibia’s ivory, rhino horn trade proposal
Francoise Steynberg and
Ellanie Smit - WINDHOEK
Namibia’s proposal to allow strictly regulated trade in rhino horn and ivory was rejected by a majority vote at the 20th Conference of the Parties (CoP20) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Saturday.
A two-thirds majority of parties voted against Namibia’s proposals – 119 parties voted, with 70 against, 31 in favour and 18 abstentions.
For the legal trade in ivory, 117 parties voted, with 81 voting against, 22 in favour, and 14 abstaining.
Namibia was represented at CITES CoP20 by, among others, officials from the environment ministry, Danene van der Westhuyzen, member of the Namibia Professional Hunting Association (Napha) for the Dallas Safari Club (DSC) and private rhino owners and custodians under the banner of Help Our Rhinos Now Namibia (HoRN.nam), represented by chairperson Jaco Muller and members Annette Oelofse and her son Alex.
Speaking to this publication from Samarkand on Saturday about their failed mission, Muller said: “We are very disappointed, but in 2022 the yes votes were only 15%. Now it was 30%, so at least that is positive.”
The ministry of environment had not responded to queries by the time of going to print.
Namibia sought approval to implement a controlled system that would allow trade in rhino horn sourced legally, such as horns partially removed under veterinary supervision or those recovered from dead animals.
In its submission, Namibia argued that such trade could generate sustainable funding for rhino conservation while undermining the black market driving poaching across southern Africa.
Robust systems in place
HoRN.nam argued that Namibia already has the monitoring systems, forensic capacity and oversight mechanisms required to administer a strictly regulated legal rhino horn trade.
Under the proposal, only horns obtained through the documented dehorning of live animals – supported by full DNA records – would qualify for trade.
“Each horn is fitted with a microchip, regular DNA samples are taken, documented and tracked through an unbroken chain of custody, with independent auditing and CITES verification ensuring transparency,” the organisation said.
Muller said the key to rhino custodians’ confidence is RhODIS®, the Rhino DNA Indexing System developed by the University of Pretoria’s veterinary genetics laboratory in South Africa. The database contains more than 40 000 rhino DNA profiles and has been used in over 120 successful wildlife crime investigations across Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Eswatini and Kenya.
Namibia also sought CITES approval to sell more than 44 000 kilograms of ivory from its government-controlled stockpiles. The ivory, consisting of elephant tusks and pieces, comes only from animals that died of natural causes or were destroyed as problem animals.
Namibia requested that this ivory be traded with international partners endorsed by CITES as having strong domestic legislation and control measures to ensure the ivory is not re-exported and is managed responsibly.
Advocates for the proposal argued that Namibia’s elephant population is stable, continuing to grow and has increased from around 7 500 animals in 1995 to more than 25 600 in 2023. According to government data, illegal poaching is not considered a significant threat.Despite these appeals, the votes against legalising ivory and rhino horn trade were overwhelming – 78.64% opposed the ivory proposal and 65.31% rejected the rhino horn proposal.[email protected]
Ellanie Smit - WINDHOEK
Namibia’s proposal to allow strictly regulated trade in rhino horn and ivory was rejected by a majority vote at the 20th Conference of the Parties (CoP20) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Saturday.
A two-thirds majority of parties voted against Namibia’s proposals – 119 parties voted, with 70 against, 31 in favour and 18 abstentions.
For the legal trade in ivory, 117 parties voted, with 81 voting against, 22 in favour, and 14 abstaining.
Namibia was represented at CITES CoP20 by, among others, officials from the environment ministry, Danene van der Westhuyzen, member of the Namibia Professional Hunting Association (Napha) for the Dallas Safari Club (DSC) and private rhino owners and custodians under the banner of Help Our Rhinos Now Namibia (HoRN.nam), represented by chairperson Jaco Muller and members Annette Oelofse and her son Alex.
Speaking to this publication from Samarkand on Saturday about their failed mission, Muller said: “We are very disappointed, but in 2022 the yes votes were only 15%. Now it was 30%, so at least that is positive.”
The ministry of environment had not responded to queries by the time of going to print.
Namibia sought approval to implement a controlled system that would allow trade in rhino horn sourced legally, such as horns partially removed under veterinary supervision or those recovered from dead animals.
In its submission, Namibia argued that such trade could generate sustainable funding for rhino conservation while undermining the black market driving poaching across southern Africa.
Robust systems in place
HoRN.nam argued that Namibia already has the monitoring systems, forensic capacity and oversight mechanisms required to administer a strictly regulated legal rhino horn trade.
Under the proposal, only horns obtained through the documented dehorning of live animals – supported by full DNA records – would qualify for trade.
“Each horn is fitted with a microchip, regular DNA samples are taken, documented and tracked through an unbroken chain of custody, with independent auditing and CITES verification ensuring transparency,” the organisation said.
Muller said the key to rhino custodians’ confidence is RhODIS®, the Rhino DNA Indexing System developed by the University of Pretoria’s veterinary genetics laboratory in South Africa. The database contains more than 40 000 rhino DNA profiles and has been used in over 120 successful wildlife crime investigations across Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Eswatini and Kenya.
Namibia also sought CITES approval to sell more than 44 000 kilograms of ivory from its government-controlled stockpiles. The ivory, consisting of elephant tusks and pieces, comes only from animals that died of natural causes or were destroyed as problem animals.
Namibia requested that this ivory be traded with international partners endorsed by CITES as having strong domestic legislation and control measures to ensure the ivory is not re-exported and is managed responsibly.
Advocates for the proposal argued that Namibia’s elephant population is stable, continuing to grow and has increased from around 7 500 animals in 1995 to more than 25 600 in 2023. According to government data, illegal poaching is not considered a significant threat.Despite these appeals, the votes against legalising ivory and rhino horn trade were overwhelming – 78.64% opposed the ivory proposal and 65.31% rejected the rhino horn proposal.[email protected]
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