​​@natgeoPhoto by @brentstirton| This #blackrhino# lost its horn to #poachers in #Zimbabwe. They left the animal for dead with multiple AK47 bullet wounds. This bull recovered briefly and walked through the bush for nearly a week in unimaginable pain and confusion. There were maggots breeding in his face when he finally died. We all lost another severely endangered black rhino bull to this incident, further depleting the gene pool of a magnificent species that we are losing. It’s no secret that rhinos are severely endangered today, yet China recently declared that it will once again allow trading of rhino and tiger parts domestically after a 25-year ban. They say this is to accommodate “farmed animals” bred in China. There are many reports on those farms, none of them good. Issues of severe inbreeding, starvation, and other abuses are common. There are also many reports that wild animals fetch higher prices on the Chinese market. Any legalization of these animal products throws open large loopholes for the illegal trade, stimulating poaching against severely endangered animals in countries that feed the illegal wildlife trade flowing into China. This is a very disappointing decision on the part of #China, especially so soon after they agreed to ban their domestic #Ivory trade.