The Portfolio Committee also held public hearings on Rhino Poaching to seek solutions to the mounting threats of poaching to the South African rhino population, despite many Government interventions at various levels in Parliament in the first quarter of 2012. The Department of Environmental Affairs, public and private conservation agencies, members of civil society and game farmers discussed and tendered solutions for halting the illegal trade in rhino horns.Furthermore, following these two significant parliamentary processes (a public hearing on rhino poaching in 2012, and a closed-door meeting with all law enforcement agencies relevant to the protection of South Africa's wild rhino populations) and regular Portfolio Committee engagements with the Department of Environmental Affairs aimed at finding optimal solutions to the ongoing challenge of rhino poaching. In addition to the local stakeholders, the Portfolio Committee invited members of Parliament from rhino range States on the Continent with the aim of sharing experiences on the challenges of rhino conservation and also learning from the many discussions at the workshop, and go back informed to lobby and facilitate their respective governments to adopt an African common position on a limited regulated trade in rhino horns, using existing stockpiles.