Poaching of rhinoceros in southern Africa has skyrocketed over the past five years.
Rhinoceros horn is now worth more than gold, diamonds or cocaine on the black market, despite a ban on the trade since 1977.
Southern African conservation groups have asked the South African government to put forward a proposal for regulated rhino horn trade at next week's Convention on the Trade of Endangered Species conference.
Their plea is supported by the research of an international group of scientists who say carefully regulated legal trade based on the humane and renewable harvesting of horn from live White Rhinos could save the beasts from extinction.
One of the researchers is Duan Biggs of the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions at the University of Queensland.
He's speaking to Kerri Worthington.
