Who kills a rhino?

I REFER to the article and debate in Monday's The Herald under the headline "Licensed to kill". I just have one simple question: what kind of person wants to kill a rhino knowing that this animal is an endangered species?

If this kind of person is prepared to pay R1.3-million for a trophy, what kind of message does this send to the world? Surely it can only be interpreted that money can buy you anything.

According to the Beatles song, "money can't buy me love". However, it appears that money can buy you a dead rhino.

Trying to put a stop to the poaching and senseless killing of rhinos is frustrating conservationists around the world. Nobody has yet come up with a viable and sustainable solution.

However every rhino that is killed, whether illegally by poachers or legally by professional hunters, means one less rhino on planet Earth. Surely this is not the way to go.

The 21st century is the century of innovation. We need the best brains in the world to find a solution that will astound the world.

We can put a man up on the moon and we can dive 8km down under the ocean. To even consider that rhinos could become extinct in our lifetime simply means that humans have failed once again to protect an animal species that is a link between the prehistoric creatures of the past, the creatures that presently roam in our national parks and private game reserves, and the creatures which should be allowed to survive into the future.

Peter Myles, Port Elizabeth