Suburban Detroit trophy hunter allowed to import rare black rhino's parts to Michigan

A suburban Detroit trophy hunter who spent $400,000 to hunt a rare black rhinoceros in Africa is receiving permission to import the animal’s skin, skull, and horns to Michigan.

The Trump administration is granting approval to Chris D. Peyerk, a Shelby Township resident who applied in April for a permit from the federal Fish and Wildlife Service, The Associated Press first reported.

Peyerk is the president of Michigan-based Dan’s Excavating Inc., a construction business that does a lot of road work for the state’s Department of Transportation.

Only about 5,500 black rhinos exist in the wild, and they’re considered a “vulnerable” endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Peyerk shelled out $400,000 for the opportunity to hunt the 29-year-old male rhino bull inside a Namibian national park in May 2018.

"Legal, well-regulated hunting as part of a sound management program can benefit the conservation of certain species by providing incentives to local communities to conserve the species and by putting much-needed revenue back into conservation," Laury Parramore, spokeswoman for the Fish and Wildlife Service, told the AP.

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