SAFFR calls for rhino upgrade
Ms Alexia Abnett said her organisation has launched a city to city petition demanding the upgrade.
The Southern Africa Fight for Rhino (SAFFR) has called on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to upgrade the rhino to critically endangered.
Ms Alexia Abnett said her organisation has launched a city to city petition demanding the upgrade.
She said the petition will be presented to Mr John Scanlon, the head of CITES in September this year.
“We are the only organisation in the world with this petition to upgrade our rhino. We launched on June 3 in Bedfordview. This is a critical petition for our rhino, in our country,” said Ms Abnett.
“Our aims are simple; to unite all Southern Africans into one voice, coming from all of our diverse cultures, to petition CITES at COP 17 to upgrade our rhino to Appendix 1, making it Critically Endangered. We also aim to deliver the petition to Mr Scanlon at the Sandton Convention Centre in September 2016, with the hope that we as the true owners of our wildlife, are able to be involved in the decision making with regards to our wildlife. Finding sustainable means to ensure the survival of the species,” said Ms Abnett.
