A HUNTING operator has asked a court for permits to hunt an endangered and partially tame Black Rhino, but the Pretoria government has vowed to protect the threatened animal. “We are committed to compliance with CITES and that does not allow the commercial utilisation of Black Rhinos,” said Trish Hanekom, head of the Conservation and Environment Department in central Gauteng province. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has listed black rhinoceroses as endangered species threatened with extinction. Leonardia Safaris has asked the Johannesburg High Court to overturn the department’s rejection this month of their applications for permits to allow a French visitor to hunt the animal.