Namibia loses bid to overturn ban on rhino horn trade at Cites conference in Samarkand

Namibia's proposals to lift the ban on the international trade in black and white rhino horns have been rejected at a key conservation meeting.

The result of the voting at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) earlier this week was adopted by the conference on Thursday in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Namibia had also proposed overturning the ban on African savanna elephant ivory - this too was defeated.

Eyebrows were raised about the rhino horn trade proposals mainly because Namibia pioneered the practice of cutting the horns off rhinos in 1989 so they no longer have value for poachers.

Dehorning was followed by other southern African countries, such as Zimbabwe, Eswatini and South Africa.

Rhino horns are prized in traditional Asian medicine and are also status symbols in China, Vietnam, and some other south-east Asian countries.

Namibia tabled two separate proposals - one for black rhinos and the other for southern white rhino.

Both were resoundingly defeated, with only around 30 votes out of about 120 in favour.

Cites regulations require a two-thirds majority for a proposal to be adopted.