1. US approves Dallas Safari Club’s black rhino import permit

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The federal justice department says a Central Texas taxidermist pleaded guilty to illegally selling horns from an endangered black rhinoceros.

The department says 53-year-old John A. Brommel of Austin pleaded guilty Thursday in a Waco federal court to knowingly selling a black rhino’s horns to non-Texas residents. He also admitted to falsifying the bill of sale to hide the buyers weren’t from Texas.

Brommel has owned and operated the Corner Shoppe taxidermy shop for more than 25 years. He was charged as part of a nationwide effort by federal officials to investigate and prosecute those involved in the black market trade of rhino horns and other protected species.

All rhinoceros species are protected under U.S. and international law, including the Endangered Species Act.

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