SINGAPORE

Trade in Rhinoceros Horn Ends: Once a major endangered species marketplace, Singapore has ended the last of its trade in rhinoceros horn. Since 1986, when it was pressured to join the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Singapore has banned the import and export of rhinoceros products. But merchants were allowed to continue selling existing stocks. Fewer than 2,000 black rhinoceroses remain in Africa, down from 65,000 in 1970. Other species in Africa and Asia also are endangered. Rhinoceros horn is valued for use as dagger handles and by those who believe that it is an aphrodisiac. The horn of an African rhino could sell for as much as $900 a pound; some Asian horns bring up to $12,500 a pound.