( CNN ) -- D-Day for rhinos is 2026 , according to South African officials -- the year the majestic mammals will near extinction if current poaching rates continue . `` It 's not that far away , it 's around the corner , '' cautions Edna Molewa , minister of water and environmental affairs in South Africa , the country where about 75 % of the world 's rhinos are found . `` It 's scary -- I do n't want us to get to that point , '' she adds . `` We do n't really want to be caught napping . '' Decimated by illegal poaching , the endangered rhino has increasingly come under attack in recent years . In South Africa alone , some 480 rhinos have been killed since January , while last year there were 668 slaughters , a nearly 50 % jump compared to 2011 . The alarming surge in rhino killings has been fueled by unsubstantiated beliefs in southeast Asia that their horns can treat all kinds of conditions , from hangovers to cancers . Buyers in countries such as Vietnam and China are willing to pay big sums for traditional cures and this has helped create a lucrative poaching market , which is often run by sophisticated criminal syndicates . No time to waste . But now the South African government wants to cripple that black market by launching a legal once-off sale of part of its billion-dollar stockpile of rhino horns . It plans to put forward a proposal at the next Conference of Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species , in 2016 , requesting the removal of a decades-old ban on rhino horn trade . `` We think that this is probably one of the measures that can actually help us alleviate this problem , '' Molewa told CNN . Read this : Drone to spy on rhino poachers . With South Africa sitting on a stockpile of more than 16,400 kilograms of rhino horn , proponents of the auction argue that the move could have an immediate impact on the fight against rampant poaching . The government 's thinking is that it can flood the market by selling stockpiled horn and regulating trade . The move , advocates say , would send the current sky-high prices tumbling , thus remove the incentives for poaching , and ultimately help prevent further mass killings of the species . `` The reality is that there are people who believe ... that this thing ( rhino horn ) has something for them , '' says Molewa , stressing that there is an urgent need to act before it 's too late . `` We have to convince them otherwise but ( this ) ... will not just be an easy thing , '' she adds . `` It will not take us a year , two years , 15 years ; so by the time we are still doing this convincing and mobilization and actual awareness and education ... our rhino population will have been decimated . '' 'Extremely naive ' But critics say a once-off sale could end up fueling the trade even more by allowing buyers to believe that horn is a legalized commodity that it 's OK to acquire . Jason Bell , regional director Southern Africa of the International Fund for Animal Welfare , describes South Africa 's proposals as an `` extremely naive '' experiment . He says that it 's not sensible to talk about flooding the market with horns when no one knows the extent of the potential demand . `` Firstly , we do n't understand the market at all , '' he says . `` No one has any idea of how much horn the Chinese market could absorb and , in fact , most would argue that you could n't ever flood the market -- that based on very simple math and a very basic understanding of demand . '' Read this : Boy 's website helps tourists spot big beasts . `` Without even a reasonable understanding of demand we are walking a very dangerous line , and a spurious one at that , '' Bell adds . `` The illicit trade will not go away as long as demand exists and putting horn into an unknown , but seemingly infinite market , will do nothing but stimulate demand and thus continued poaching and illicit trade . '' Opponents also argue that authorities wo n't be able to regulate such a trade . The way to deal with the crisis , they say , is by stifling demand and dispelling the notions of rhino horns ' supposed healing powers . `` Consumer countries need to address demand , '' says Bell . `` That is the bottom line . This is being confused by proposals to trade . '' Molewa acknowledges the risks of the move but says non action would have negative repercussions both for South Africa and the world . `` We all have to go into that battle together in convincing people that this ( rhino horn ) does n't really work as they think , but will that happen before 2026 ? That 's a question I doubt . `` We ca n't sit back as we 're seeing the heritage of our country actually being poached , '' adds Molewa . `` We ca n't let the security of the country be undermined . ''
South Africa will ask for permission to sell some of its stockpiled rhino horn . Government hopes the move will prevent more mass killings of rhinos . But critics argue that this could risk fueling demand even further . Rhinos are increasingly coming under attack from poachers for their horns .