Out in the tawny grassland, a vet and team of wardens are hunting down a white rhino with tranquillizer guns. Once stunned, their muscular victim lies unconscious with its hooves trembling. A helicopter hovers above, ready to hoist the rhino - wrapped in a cargo net - to the auction. In a stripy marquee, the feverish bidding begins. Tense faces listen to the auctioneer's babble as six black rhinos are sold for $300,000. Inevitably some of the animals are sold to Safari hunters. Park authorities maintain that profit raised for conservation justifies game hunting. A wildlife report which highlights the commercial realities of conservation.

Produced by ABC Australia