A trophy hunter will be issued a permit to import the skin, skull and horns from a rare black rhinoceros he shot in Africa, the Trump administration has said.

Chris Peyerk of Shelby Township, Michigan, applied last year for the permit required by the Fish and Wildlife Service to import animals protected under the Endangered Species Act, documents show.

Mr Peyerk paid $400,000 (£327,000) to an anti-poaching program to receive permission to hunt the male rhino bull inside a Namibian national park in May 2018.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists black rhinos as a critically endangered species, with about 5,500 remaining in the wild.

Nearly half of those are in Namibia, which is allowed under international convention to permit five male rhinos a year to be legally killed by hunters.

Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Show all 15 1 /15 Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts It's estimated an elephant is killed every 20 or 25 minutes on average in Africa Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Broadcaster Nicky Campbell spoke passionately against trophy hunting and legal imports of animal parts Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Protesters at the fifth annual Global March for Elephants and Rhinos in London marched through central London Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Thousands of people joined the fifth annual Global March for Elephants and Rhinos in London Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Stanley Johnson, father of Boris Johnson, is a passionate supporter of the campaign to save elephants and rhinos from extinction Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Protesters at the fifth annual Global March for Elephants and Rhinos in London called for a UK ban on trophy imports Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Thousands of protesters at the Global March for Elephants and Rhinos marched to Downing Street Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Some protesters in London against trophy hunting dressed in wildlife costumes Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Campaigners fear elephants, rhinos and lions will become extinct if trophy hunting continues Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Protesters at the fifth annual Global March for Elephants and Rhinos in London against trophy hunting marched through central London Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Some protesters in London against trophy hunting dressed in wildlife costumes Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Protesters at the fifth annual Global March for Elephants and Rhinos in London called for a UK ban on trophy imports Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Protesters stopped traffic as they marched through London Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Campaigners fear elephants, rhinos and lions will become extinct if trophy hunting continues Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Palmerston the cat joined Denise Dresner, of Action for Elephants, John Stevenson, of Stop Ivory, actor Peter Egan, Cordelia Britton, of Four Paws, Mark Jones, of Born Free and Eduardo Goncalves, of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, as they delivered a letter to Downing Street Paul Nicholls

The specific subspecies Mr Peyrek listed on his application, the south-western black rhinoceros, is listed as “vulnerable” by the IUCN, meaning it is at less threat of extinction than the rest of the species as a whole.

Mr Peyerk did not respond to a phone message seeking comment. He is president of Dan’s Excavating Inc., a large construction contractor in Michigan.

The numbers of black rhinos have been increasing in recent years with stricter conservation management, but dozens are still illegally poached each year for their horns, which are sold on the black market for use in traditional Chinese medicine and as a status symbol.

The horns are composed largely of the protein keratin, also the chief component in hair and fingernails.

“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,” said Laury Parramore, spokeswoman for the Fish and Wildlife Service.

For decades federal regulators issued no import permits for black rhinos, but as populations rebounded in Africa the Obama administration issued three starting in 2013. The Trump administration has issued another two.

A trophy hunter is set to be granted a permit by Trump administration to import body parts from the rare black rhino he shot in Africa (AP)

Although President Donald Trump has derided trophy hunting in a tweet as a “horror show,” his adult sons are avid big-game hunters and his administration reversed Obama-era restrictions on the import of endangered elephant and lion trophies from several African countries.

Records show Mr Peyerk was represented in his effort to get a rhino permit by John Jackson, a Louisiana attorney who provides free legal assistance to trophy hunters through a nonprofit group called Conservation Force.

He is also a past president of Safari Club International, a trophy hunting group that has lobbied the Trump administration to loosen import restrictions on endangered big game animals.

Mr Jackson was appointed in 2018 to the International Wildlife Conservation Council, an advisory board set up by then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to help promote trophy hunting.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Mr Jackson said he sees no conflict between advising the Fish and Wildlife Service on policy issues while also petitioning the agency on the behalf of his legal clients.

“The permitting is just one cog in the conservation wheel of what we do,” Mr Jackson said last week. “We establish and support programs on the ground that enhance the survival of the particular specie. Our mission is the recovery of the species population, not the private interest of the hunter.”

The $400,000 paid by Mr Peyrek went to a trust fund set up by the Namibian government for wildlife management, conservation, rural development and other activities aimed at promoting the coexistence of humans and wildlife.

The Humane Society criticised the federal decision to allow Peyerk to import the black rhino’s taxidermied remains.

“We urge our federal government to end this pay-to-slay scheme that delivers critically endangered rhino trophies to wealthy Americans while dealing a devastating blow to rhino conservation,” said Kitty Block, the head of the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International.

“While we cannot turn back the clock to save this animal, the administration can stop the US from further contributing to the demise of this species by refusing future import permits of black rhino trophies.”