Rhino horn has been traded between Africa and Asia for nearly 2 000 years. It was not until the mid 1970s that conservationists, concerned about the decline in rhino populations, attempted to restrict this trade by listing all rhino species on Appendix 1 of CITES, the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. ‘Ban and enforce’ Since then, this ‘ban and enforce’ approach has been progressively stepped up, the only concessions being in 1994 (an Appendix 2 down-listing for South Africa’s white rhino population to allow for trophy hunting and live sales) and 2004 (a similar down-listing for Swaziland and limited black rhino trophy hunting quotas for South Africa and Namibia).