Legalising International Trade in Rhino Horn ???

[Richprins]

However, there is provision in the CITES agreement for representations to be made by a Party for changes to the listings outside of/in the time in between, the Conferences of the Parties (COP) meetings.

[Toko]

live white rhino are allowed to be traded.

True, but that's for everything listed under Appendix II. But one needs a permit

[Richprins]

Permits are not a problem here?

[Duke]

Permits are not a problem here?

no they not

I am aware of the live trade RP but they could not get the numbers to add up here but then the DEA seems to have a history with muddling numbers

So who controls trade in rhino horn, which central agency

[Flutterby]

Devastating research for rhinos as only 1 in 3 who want to buy horn actually do

Posted by Kevin Heath posted on September 17th, 2013 at 3: 41 pm


New research just published by TRAFFIC and WWF-South Africa is devastating news for the rhino. Despite rhino killing surging in the last 5 years the research shows there are 3 times more people in Vietnam who plan or intend to use rhino horn in the future than actually uses rhino horn at the moment.

The news that only 1 in 3 people who want to use rhino horn actually are demonstrates the threat that in is front of the rhino. Currently rhino horn is illegal to use and trade in, the fear has to be that this pent up ’intending’ user demand will be released if rhino horn trade becomes legal. Any hope that the stockpile of rhino horn or harvesting of rhino horn being able to meet with potential demand must now be dismissed.

The consumer research was carried out earlier this year and saw 720 people in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City being questioned over their views on rhino horn. Vietnamese people clearly view rhino horn and its use as an aspirational status symbol. As well as being given as gifts using rhino horn is also considered to instil a ‘peace of mind’.

“Rhino horn consumers are wealthy and powerful and as such are seen as influential people within Vietnamese society,” says Dr Jo Shaw, WWF-SA’s Rhino Co-ordinator. She adds, “While their reasons for purchasing and consuming rhino horn are linked to an underlying belief in its medicinal properties there is a current trend of use to enhance social standing.”

Shaw further explains, “Research reveals that typical users of rhino horn are successful, well-educated men, over the age of 40 who live in Viet Nam’s main urban centres. They value their luxury lifestyle, which is often based around meeting peer group pressures and tend to view animals as commodities to serve functional and income-generating purposes rather than feeling an emotional connection”.

The most startling finding from the research though is the number of people who intend to use rhino horn in the future. If all those intending to use rhino horn actually make the move from intender to user then demand will surge three times current levels.

Dr Naomi Doak of TRAFFIC’s Greater Mekong Programme says, “Intenders want to become buyers and users of rhino horn as it is favoured and valued by those they want to impress. They have already made a conscious decision to purchase rhino horn even though they know it is illegal.”

Doak adds, “We need a combination of enhanced law enforcement and demand reduction campaigns to shift attitudes and behaviour against the trend in rhino horn use within the growing middle-class in Viet Nam – without changing the situation in the end user market the pressure on rhinos will continue to inflate. Our new insights on what is driving demand will allow the most targeted and influential response to dissuade consumption”.

Dr Morné du Plessis, WWF-SA’s CEO concludes, “Understanding and influencing the drivers of rhino horn demand in end-user markets – such as Viet Nam – forms a fundamental part of WWF-SA’s fivepoint strategic framework to address the dramatic increase in rhino poaching and combat the threat to rhinos. This pioneering consumer research will help us achieve these goals, as the fight against rhino poaching will ultimately be won in Asia, not Africa.”

[Duke]

Interview with John Hume from two days ago

[Richprins]

It seems a bit strange that a small survey amongst a population that claims not to be the biggest consumer should suddenly cancel any thought of legal trade?

[Duke]

Ja RP and if we see the survey from the WWF - article linked by Flutterby then 3 times more people would use rhino horn....

[Richprins]

I'm talking about Flutterby's link! -O

[Toko]

Poaching Increases As South Africa Pushes Legal Rhino Horn Trade


WASHINGTON and LONDON, Sept. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --The poaching of rhinos in South Africa has increased by more than three rhinos a week on average since Environmental Minister Edna Molewa called for a legal international trade in rhino horn, according to analysis by the non-profit Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).

From January 1 to March 13 2013, an average of 15.36 rhinos were poached each week in South Africa. On March 14, Minister Molewa revealed her support at the meeting of the member nations of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Bangkok, Thailand, for a legal international rhino horn trade. CITES has long banned such a trade.

Since the Minister's announcement, a weekly average of 18.6 rhinos were poached between March 14 and September 19, totaling 505 rhinos. Today the 2013 total has now reached a grim new world record of 663 animals, just five short of South Africa's 2012 record total of 668 poached rhinos. Kenya and India have also reported increased numbers of their rhinos poached this year.

The EIA analysis is released to coincide with Sunday's World Rhino Day which celebrates the five remaining rhino species, all of which are threatened by poaching to meet demand for their horns.

EIA President Allan Thornton said: "South Africa is stimulating an ever-increasing and unsustainable demand for rhino horn in Vietnam, China and other countries that is fuelling the rhino poaching epidemic. South Africa's policy signal to the global marketplace that rhino horn is a smart investment commodity is unleashing a tsunami of destruction on South Africa's rhinos."

Fraudulent claims spread by Vietnamese crime syndicates and Government officials promoting rhino horn as a cure for cancer and other ailments have caused skyrocketing prices for rhino horn while corrupt Vietnamese diplomatic officials implicated in illegal rhino horn trade in South Africa have gone unpunished. Alarming results from a recent consumer survey in Vietnam indicate that the potential rhino horn consumer base in Vietnam is three times the current level.

"Rhinos are already being slaughtered at an unsustainable rate to feed the demand for an unsubstantiated 'medicine' in Vietnam," said Mary Rice, Executive Director of EIA's London office.

"Powerful commercial interests in South Africa are seeking to cash in on their stockpiled horn at the expense of the conservation and survival of South Africa's rhinos. Legalising rhino horn trade will reward the criminal kingpins behind the poaching, pushing rhinos inside and outside of South Africa ever closer to extinction."

Editors Notes:

1.The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) is an independent non profit environmental group based in Washington, DC and London, UK that seeks to protect the natural environment "with intelligence."

2.EIA's analysis is based on publicly available data on the number of rhinos poached in South Africa in 2013. The analysis used the reported figure of 158 rhinos killed up to March 13 over 10 weeks and two days which produced an average of 15.36 rhinos killed weekly during the period. The 505 rhinos reported poached from March 14 to September 19 over a period of 27 weeks and one day produced a weekly average of 18.6 rhinos during that period.

Contact:
Jessica Forres, Washington, DC +1 202 716 8320 and jforres@eia-global.org
Paul Newman, London, UK +44 (0) 207 354 7960 and paulnewman@eia-international.org

SOURCE Environmental Investigation Agency


© 2013 PR Newswire