From Reuters

A permit to hunt a black rhino in Namibia sold for $350,000 at an auction in Dallas with proceeds going to protect the endangered animals despite protests from animal rights groups that saw the sale as immoral conservation.

The license allows for the killing of a single, post-breeding bull, with Namibian wildlife officials on hand for the hunt to make sure an appropriate animal is selected.

The Dallas Safari Club had been expecting the permit to bring $250,000 to $1 million at an auction held during its annual convention. The hunt will help in managing the population and provide an underfunded Namibian government hard cash in the expensive battle to thwart poachers, it said.

“Biologists in Namibia were hopeful that a U.S.-based auction would produce a record amount for rhino conservation, and that’s exactly what happened,” said club Executive Director Ben Carter.

“These bulls no longer contribute to the growth of the population and are in a lot of ways detrimental to the growth of the population because black rhinos are very aggressive and territorial. In many cases, they will kill younger, non-breeding bulls and have been known to kill calves and cows,” Carter said this week

More than 75,000 people signed an online petition at www.causes.com to stop the sale, saying black rhinos cannot be protected if they are allowed to be killed.

There are about 25,000 rhinos in Africa – 20,000 white rhinos and 5,000 black rhinos – with the majority in South Africa. Namibia is one of the leading habitats after that.

Written by Jon Herskovitz/Read more at Reuters