Across Africa and Asia we are witnessing a new poaching crisis that threatens to derail the gains made in rhino conservation over the last thirty years. While most people might think the demand for rhino horn is fuelled by China’s widespread use of Traditional Chinese Medicine; the reality is much more complex.
By Katherine Johnston, London, UK
Katherine is Save the Rhino International’s Communications Manager. She read Modern History and English at Oxford, before completing an MA at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. She is a consultant to the Lynx UK Trust and Trustee of ResonanceFM.
By 2007 rhino populations, especially in Africa, had seen steady growth due to the efforts of conservationists on the ground and tougher law enforcement. In 2008 however, poaching began to rise – exponentially – and we are now at a tipping point where the number of rhinos poached (plus natural mortalities) is outweighing the number born each year.
What is behind this rapid surge in poaching? “The new poaching crisis,” SRI Deputy Director Susie Offord tells us, “is caused by demand from countries in South East Asia, primarily China and Viet Nam. Although Traditional Chinese Medicine plays a part, it is more to do with the booming Vietnamese economy and rapid expansion of a wealthy business elite.”
In Viet Nam, rhino horn is seen as a luxury item. It is a status symbol to own and display but also to consume. Traditional beliefs around “Chi” – or inner strength – have adapted as a new elite has emerged. Now, amongst some parts of the country’s business class, the horn is ground to a powder and consumed as a “detoxifier.” Rumoured to cure anything from illnesses to hangovers; imbibing the horn often takes place in a social setting when sealing high-end business deals. The practice, akin to using a party drug, is growing.
Although the number of people buying rhino horn is a tiny proportion of the population, their impact on the species’ survival is huge.
Since 2008, over 6,000 African white and black rhinos have been poached. In Asia, the most threatened species are the Sumatran and Javan rhinos; with fewer than a hundred of each species remaining. Many organisations have warned that if the rate of killing continues unabated, rhinos could be heading to extinction within the decade.
The act of poaching itself is brutal. Hunted down, usually shot and left in a traumatised state, the rhino’s horn and much of its face is hacked off with an axe or machete. Calves are killed for their tiny horns or simply left to die.
For conservationists, ever-declining numbers of rhinos pose huge challenges. Healthy gene pools diminish, populations become more fragmented and struggle to mate naturally, and habitat loss brings rhinos and poachers into increasingly close contact. When consumers buy rhino horn, money goes straight into the hands of transnational criminal syndicates, many of whom are involved in narcotics, people trafficking and money laundering too. And for every rhino population lost, a community loses a source of tourism revenue and a vital part of the eco-system.
☛ More than 1,028 rhinos were poached in South Africa in 2017.
Many more elsewhere!
Save the Rhino International (SRI) was founded in 1994. Focused on conserving viable populations of wild rhino, the UK-based charity raises funds and awareness to support initiatives on the ground. Long-running programmes include training rangers and providing anti-poaching equipment; funding education programmes for communities living near rhino habitat; and captive breeding for the critically endangered Sumatran rhinos.
SRI started working in Viet Nam in 2012 after the country was identified as a key market for rhino horn by TRAFFIC, an organisation that investigates international wildlife crime. Since then, SRI has worked in Viet Nam with both TRAFFIC and a local organisation called Education for Nature-Vietnam, to raise awareness of the devastating impact of the trade and encourage Vietnamese consumers to turn their back on the craze.
In May 2016, SRI Ambassador, and ‘Arrow’ and ‘Lagaan’ actor Paul Blackthorne landed in Viet Nam to launch a new campaign: Save the Rhino Vietnam. A joint initiative between SRI and Education for Nature-Vietnam, the campaign aims to put the rhino horn trade firmly on the national agenda. So far, the campaign has garnered a huge amount of press attention. Predominantly aimed at young people, the campaign has seen Blackthorne speak at schools and universities and meet influencers from the business and political spheres keen to raise awareness of Viet Nam’s role in the global trade.
Blackthorne explains “Rhino horn can, and will be, an unfashionable fad from the past…This is a new trend. It’s something that we can change before it’s too late.” A host of Vietnamese superstars have also jumped on board including the country’s top comedian Xuan Bac, and one of the country’s “four divas”; Lê Hồng Nhung.
There are signs of progress in Viet Nam. Young people are engaging with the campaign and the hashtag #savetherhinovietnam is trending on social media. In July 2016 the Vietnamese government will produce new penal codes, and the team at SRI hope this means more prosecutions for traffickers and lengthy prison sentences rather than low fines. The team behind the campaign point to previous successes in stemming the demand for rhino horn in nearby Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, where the trade is now practically non-existent.
SRI Deputy Director Susie Offord is positive that we can turn back the tide: “Our biggest challenge in Viet Nam is raising awareness so that customers see their part in the wider picture. Many people don’t associate rhinos poached in Africa with items sold in their country. Ultimately, the only way we can put an end to poaching is to stop demand. It will take time, but with the backing of so many people in Viet Nam, I think we can do it.”
MORE INFORMATION AT:
FACEBOOK: savetherhinointernational
TWITTER: @savetherhino
