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One of the bidders who helped pay $350,000 for a permit to kill an endangered black rhino
in Namibia has come forward after his name was made public.
And in interviews with both CBS and CNN, Outdoor Channel host Corey Knowlton says he's received
a barrage of threats against him and his family. (Via KXAS)
"I'm gonna come and kill you, or meet me, I'll kill you. I'm gonna burn your house.
I'm gonna torture your children. Things of that nature."
"The FBI is alerted, the Las Vegas SWAT team is on alert, I've got security going everywhere
I go. That's the hate that I'm dealing with. ... I had no idea that it would be this visceral."
Knowlton is trying to set the record straight, saying most of the people making threats don't
understand why the hunt is being done in the first place.
KTVT reports the black rhino that Knowlton and his unidentified hunting partner are hunting
is a more aggressive and older male that's no longer able to breed. Knowlton called the
rhino a "troublemaker."
And the Dallas Safari Club, which auctioned off the permit, says the hunt is part of a
conservation effort.
The club says the rhino that's set to be killed has been a risk for the herd itself and adds
the money made from the auction will be used for conservation projects. The BBC notes there
are less than 5,000 black rhinos worldwide.
Knowlton told WFAA he initially wasn't going to bid on the hunt but ultimately decided
to do it.
REPORTER: "Knowlton says he stepped up after other high-dollar bidders backed out not wanting
to deal with protestors and threats." KNOWLTON: "To their credit, they probably
has a better idea of what they were getting into than I did."
The BBC also reports Namibia, where the hunt is set to be held, is home to about one-third
of the world's black rhino population.