Swaziland acting as 'puppet' to South Africa in bid to legalise rhino horn trade

Top conservationists criticise the proposal - announced just days after neighbouring South Africa dropped its bid for legal trade - saying it will open the gates for a black market

Swaziland has been accused by one of the world's leading conservationists of being a puppet of South Africa in a bid to open the floodgates to a potentially calamitous legal rhino horn trade.

South Africa appointed a committee to study the idea of trading horn internationally, which has been banned for more than four decades, but the government backed away from such a proposal in April.