Legalising International Trade in Rhino Horn ???

[H. erectus]

TCM, traditional Chinese Medicine has been around for just
about as long as the Chinese self,..fair and well!!,...

We know all about it, we sit with our own beliefs such like
Sangoma stuff!!!, fair and well,...

What irks here is the hype, the financial hype created,
feuling this whole onslaught,...

TCM's and Sangoma rituall will always be, matter of fact.
As a controlling body, if any, then rather look at other avenues
that might support this myth such as Cannibis,...free trade for
all practical purpose and intent!! Has proven medicinal value
far greater than rhino horn!!!!

To make a long story short and practical, this "Cannibis" thingy
keeps popping up far to frequently for it's medicinal "value"
in the media,...'nuf said and tread no further on this level however,
the monetary value needs to be removed from rhino horn for what
it may be worth!!!

This hype needs to be curtailed!!!! Somewhere between demand and
supply there is a misfit to life, souring peoples lifes on both continents!!

At the conference the big letter "C" was mentioned!!
It would almost seem that be closer to home than anywhere else in this
world.

We simply need to quish the hype surrounding!!

Let's begin looking at who feuls whom!!!???

[Toko]

DEA study available now: The viability of legalising trade in rhino horn in South Africa First published and printed in 2014, by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) Pretoria, South Africa

Download PDF here or here

[Toko]

Page 102, under: 13. CONCLUSION AND OVERALL RECOMMENDATIONS

It is clear that both trade or no trade scenarios carry risks that could negatively impact South Africa’s rhino populations, so determining which option to pursue comes down to a decision on which one is least detrimental to rhino conservation. Taking into account the facts that the mechanisms for controlling a legal trade in South Africa are not yet in place, that the number of rhino horns in private stockpiles are uncertain, and that some private rhino owners are not yet compliant with permitting regulations, it is likely that lifting the moratorium at the present time will lead to laundering of illegal horn into legal stockpiles as well as smuggling of horn out of the country. These acts would tarnish South Africa’s reputation with CITES Parties and could jeopardise future attempts to legalise international trade in rhino horn. If international trade in rhino horn were the primary goal for South Africa, damaging the chances of achieving this by legalising national trade now would be counterproductive. Moreover, given that the main demand for rhino horn is in Asia, legalising national trade would do little to satisfy that demand, so poaching would
continue.

At the present time, therefore, South Africa should keep the moratorium in place. However, this should not be considered a long-term solution because rhinos are being poached at an ever-increasing rate, and the national moratorium is doing nothing to relieve this. In fact, the restrictions created by the local trade ban may be exacerbating the poaching problem. It is imperative that private rhino owners are incentivised to continue conserving and protecting rhinos in South Africa, but if the national and international trade bans remain in place indefinitely and if the poaching remains high or escalates, many private owners may stop protecting rhinos. If this happens, the prospects for successful rhino conservation in South Africa will worsen significantly.

[Toko]

and then this

South Africa must bring all private rhino owners into compliance with TOPS regulations and the norms and standards before it considers lifting the national moratorium and before making an approach to CITES to legalise international trade in rhino horn. Many Parties to CITES are unlikely to vote in favour of lifting the international trade ban before this happens, and may even consider implementing tighter restrictions on rhino exports (such as white rhino trophies) if South Africa fails to do so. The first step towards achieving this is the creation of a secure, national electronic permitting system and rhino database that deals with all permitting issues for live rhinos and rhino horn, including the marking and identification of horn using DNA profiling. Once this database is established, all private rhino owners must be compelled to disclose exactly how many horns they have stockpiled and submit to the necessary permitting and marking process. They are only likely to do this, however, if they trust the national permitting authority and if they believe that the government is trying to find ways to help them cover the costs of protecting rhinos. The
process of developing the database and capturing all private owner information should be completed at least one year before the 17th Conference of Parties that is due to be held in 2016. It is imperative that South Africa is prepared and ready to argue for international trade at this meeting if by that stage the poaching surge has not been brought under control.

While this central rhino database is being developed and implemented, economists must decide on a system to control and regulate trade in rhino horn. This should be done for both national and international trade because legalising international trade may turn out to be the only way to reduce poaching in the future if law enforcement continues to fail. Once the database is successfully implemented and all private rhino owners are compliant with regulations, the national moratorium could be lifted, if by that time it is still deemed necessary.

[Richprins]

Waffling!

2016 is a long way away...this is a response to the Oscap conference.

As quoted by Toko, the registration of private rhino is not popular due to official corruption, so why then insist on it?

It contradicts the first extract stating the truth, that private owners will simply give up, and probably sell their stocks on the black market.

[Toko]

Not only waffling

The risk assessment is a serious analysis

8. IMPLICATIONS OF LIFTING OR NOT LIFTING THE NATIONAL MORATORIUM .......... 79

reflects really all cons and arguments by the opponents.

Now draw some good conclusions, DEA and be realistic: Can these risks be controlled or even mitigated

[Toko]

To trade or not to trade: the rhino horn question

Learn what the debate around the legalised sale of rhino horn is all about.
Susanna Oosthuizen | 23 May 2014 10:30

Will the once-off sale of South Africa’s estimated 18 tons of stockpiled rhino horn lead to a decrease in poaching? This, along with the possible consequences of a trade ban lift, were among the most pertinent questions posed at the ‘Risk Assessment of Rhino Horn Trade’ conference held in Onderstepoort in April. Organised by the local non-profit organisation, Outraged Citizens Against Poaching (OSCAP), it included several international conservation agencies as well as an impressive array of international key note speakers.
The conference followed on the announcement in 2013 by the minister of environmental affairs, Edna Molewa, that the country would back ”the establishment of a well regulated international trade” in rhino horn and seek permission from CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) in 2016 for a one-off sale of stockpiles worth around $1 billion.” International trade in rhino horn has been banned since 1976.

The ongoing debate has been conducted on international and local levels for several months and across many platforms, with a focus on several key factors:

- Market factors:
So-called “pro-traders” believe that releasing tons (estimated to be between 18 and 20) of stockpiled horn into the market will increase supply in consumer countries to such a degree that it will bring the price down. With legal horn selling at a lower price, consumers will be “hi-jacked” from illegal markets. In turn, lower prices will reduce incentive to poach.
Opponents of trade, like Mary Rice of the Environmental Investigation Agency, Suzy Watts (Humane Society International) and Will Travers (Born Free Foundation), however, told conference delegates that these viewpoints were seriously flawed. Not enough is known, they explained, about the rhino horn market to prove the above assumptions, and that that the real market size and characteristics are still unknown factors. “Think about it, there is no incentive for Asian traders to keep the price low at the user end. South Africa will only be able to control the price at which it sells the horn,” said Travers. The market price would therefore not necessarily drop in countries like China and Vietnam. “Poaching may always be cheaper than farming,” Watts warned. Many also believe that legalising the use of rhino horn in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) could enlarge the market considerably. Calculations presented at OSCAP by Dex Kotze showed that if 1% of the population of all consumer countries used the generally prescribed dosages, 15 tons would be required per annum. This increases to 327 tons for use by 5% of the population.

- The reaction of organized crime syndicates:
Even in well regulated markets, laundering occurs and pro-traders are naïve to think rhino horn trade will be any different. This was the general view expressed at OSCAP. Organised crime syndicates will not necessarily passively stand by and accept a lower price. Illegally obtained horn could find its way into the legal market and smugglers could try to sell more to make up for their losses. In addition, there is a risk that syndicates could create new, niche markets for horn products.
A real fear among conservationists relates to the fact that Chinese consumers currently pay considerably more for “wild” bear bile and tiger bone compared to the “farmed” alternative.

-The stigma effect:
Legalising trade could remove the stigma attached to consumption and open up the market, rather than reduce it, trade challengers suggested.

- Rhino horn farming and the cost of security:
Perhaps one of the best known pro-traders, private rhino owner John Hume, has stated on several occasions that “rhino farms” can create jobs and alleviate poverty. “With a legal trade, rhino farming will create more habitats for rhino, as well as other threatened species.” He also states that emergent black farmers and rural communities can be assisted and taught to farm rhino, leading to community-based wildlife management.
The argument against this is that regulation and its associated cost will exclude the poor. In addition, government assistance for emerging farmers in South Africa has traditionally been unsuccessful. Corruption and collusion in the industry could create an opportunity for unethical farmers to side-line a complicated and costly permit system by using illegal channels to move legally farmed horn.

- Successes and failures of other trade bans:
The trade ban on ivory has not stopped the large scale poaching of elephant. This is an argument often used by pro-traders. The success story of the South American Vicuna is also often touted by this faction as an example of how sustainable farming has saved a species from extinction. Furthermore, they argue, the current rhino trade ban has also not done much to stop poaching. An analysis of the rhino horn market suggests to pro traders that it shares similar demand characteristics to alcohol and illegal drugs. Bans on such products are unenforceable – they simply result in much higher prices and ensure that all trade is handled by crime syndicates.

Not so, the OSCAP speakers countered the above, generally held beliefs. Bans on rhino horn trade in “old” consumer countries like Japan and Taiwan effectively killed the demand for it. Several speakers added that a ban isn’t effective without the political drive to arrest and prosecute syndicates involved in the illegal trade. Peter Knights of the WildAid organization explained to delegates how a total ban on trade and use, coupled with extensive awareness campaigns, had reduced the price of shark fin in Indonesia with up to 80%, making it unviable to kill these animals. Two stockpile sales of ivory in 2008 and 2009 actually increased the demand and fuelled elephant poaching , suggested expert Dr Paula Kahumbu from Kenya. She stressed that it had been proven in Kenya that the legal trade only provided an avenue for laundering funds generated through the parallel illicit trade.

[Toko]

And there is another problem to take in consideration

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Southern White Rhino as Threatened to save the other Rhino species

ACTION
Affirmation Of Interim Rule As Final Rule.

SUMMARY
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are adopting as a final rule an interim rule to list the southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum) as threatened under the authority of section 4(e) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), due to the similarity in appearance with the endangered Javan (Rhinoceros sondaicus), Sumatran (Dicerorhinos sumatrensis), Indian (Rhinoceros unicornis), black (Diceros bicornis) and northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni). The interim rule was necessary, as differentiating between the horns and other products made from the southern white rhino and the endangered Javan, Sumatran, Indian, black, and northern white rhino is difficult for law enforcement to determine without genetic testing, decreasing their ability to enforce and further the provisions and policies of the Act. This similarity of appearance has resulted in the documented trade of listed rhinoceros species, often under the guise of being the unprotected southern white rhinoceros, and this difficulty in distinguishing between the rhino species protected under the Act and the southern white rhino constitutes an additional threat to all endangered rhinoceros species. The determination that the southern white rhino should be treated as threatened due to similarity of appearance will substantially facilitate law enforcement actions to protect and conserve all endangered rhino species. Therefore, for the reasons given in the interim rule and in this document, we are adopting the interim rule as a final rule without substantive change.

[Richprins]

That is quite clever! Go USA!

[Toko]

The journal "Assessing the Risks of Rhino Horn Trade" OSCAP Conference April 2014, International Rhino Coalition now available for download:

Download PDF