The government will decide this month whether to push to end a global ban on buying and selling rhino horn, a move that could unlock a $2-billion (about R29-billion) bonanza for South Africa and determine the fate of a critically endangered species. Rhino horn is prized in Asia and surging demand has meant more poaching. A record 1305 of the animals were illegally killed in Africa last year.Buying and selling rhino horn internationally was banned in 1977.But opponents of that ban say that a properly monitored legal trade could help save rhinos, rather than condemn them to extinction.The stakes are high. The government has not revealed the size of its rhino horn stockpile but the Private Rhino Owners' Association estimates its members have around 6t and reckons the state has close to 25t.Rhino horn on the street in Asia sells for about $65000/kg, according to estimates, so 30t could generate up to $2-billion.Supporters of legalising the trade say the money could be used for conservation by the government, whose finances are under pressure as it faces possible debt ratings downgrades that could see its borrowing costs balloon.They say the ban simply does not work."We are losing rhino, we are losing the war. We have to change our tactics," said John Hume, a private rancher who owns 1293 rhinos - 4.5% of a global population of about 28000."It is not the demand that is killing our rhinos, it's the way we supply that demand," he said on his sprawling 7000ha farm, 170km west of Johannesburg.The government will decide this month whether to table a proposal on lifting the ban when Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species meets later this year...