A global ban on hunting rare black rhinos is set to be lifted by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
The move has been condemned by conservationists who say the black rhino is still in danger.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species adopted a Namibian proposal today that will allow the southern African country an annual quota of five black rhinos for trophy hunters.
A proposal by neighbouring South Africa to allow five of the animals to be hunted each year was also passed at the two-week conference, which began on Saturday. South Africa had asked for a quota of 10 black rhino, but reduced it to five to address the concerns of conservationists.
The proposals will be raised again during the plenary session next week but are almost certain to pass because they have overwhelming support.
"We appreciate this recognition of our conservation achievements," Malan Lindeque, the top civil servant at Namibia's Environment Ministry, told Reuters.
Africa's black rhino has been snatched from the brink of extinction and its numbers are on the rebound, but it still faces many threats, conservationists say.
Rhino horn is sought in East Asia, where it is valued for medical purposes, and in the Middle East, where it is used for dagger handles.
Rampant poaching drove black rhino numbers down to about 2,400 in the mid-1990s from an estimated 65,000 just two decades before. Poachers typically hack off the horns and leave the carcasses to rot.