China to allow trade in endangered tiger, rhino products again

[Lisbeth]

China postpones decision on allowing tiger bone, rhino horn trading

13.11.2018 AP


China says it is suspending rule changes allowing trading in tiger and rhinoceros parts, after the move to reverse a ban sparked an outcry from environmental groups. (Andy Wong, AP, File)

China is postponing its decision to allow trading in tiger and rhinoceros parts a bare two weeks after the easing of the ban had raised fears the country was giving legal cover to poaching and smuggling of endangered wildlife.

The official Xinhua News Agency quoted Cabinet official Ding Xuedong as saying on Monday that the change had "been postponed after study".

"Relevant departments of the Chinese government will soon continue to organise special crackdown campaigns with focus on addressing the illegal trade of rhinos, tigers and their byproducts. Illegal acts will be dealt with severely," Ding, an executive deputy secretary-general of the State Council was quoted as saying.

The Xinhua report said the ban on the import and export of rhino and tiger parts and their use in traditional Chinese medicine would also be maintained. Ding's comments did not address whether the postponement meant the decision would be revived.

The traditional medicinal uses of tiger bone and rhino horn have continued despite no proof of their effectiveness and the decreasing wild populations. China has also long tolerated the farming of tigers and the semi-legal sale of their parts.

Late last month, authorities said they would allow trading in products made from tigers and rhinos under "special circumstances", bringing condemnation from conservation groups. Farming of non-native rhinos is not known in China but the changing law raised speculation it was being planned.

Global consequences

The World Wildlife Fund said overturning the ban would have "devastating consequences globally" by allowing poachers and smugglers to hide behind the legalised trade.

China's authoritarian Communist Party-led government rarely responds to international pressure and the reversal appeared to reflect concerns over the country's reputation as a supporter of environmental preservation. China, home to the highly endangered giant panda, has frequently been named as a top market for endangered wildlife products including ivory and skin from African elephants and meat and scales from the anteater-like pangolin, native to Africa and southern Asia.

Reacting to the latest development, the Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States called for China to completely ban the trade in tiger and rhino products.

"To truly protect tigers and rhinos we need an official written proclamation from the State Council that permanently reinstates a complete ban. Full stop," Iris Ho, senior specialist for Wildlife Programme and Policy at Humane Society International was quoted as saying in a news release. "Species extinction is irreversible and we cannot afford any missteps," Ho said.

Along with other animal protection organisations, the Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States have filed a legal appeal for a ban on US imports of all wildlife and their parts from China "unless or until China formally reinstates a complete ban on domestic trade in tigers and rhinos and their parts and products", the groups said in a statement.

An estimated 3 890 tigers remain alive in the wild, according to a report presented during the Third Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation in 2016. Studies put the population of wild rhinos at less than 30 000, while poaching to cultivate their horns is reducing that number drastically each year.

[Dzombo]

At least some good news???

[Dindingwe]

Good news I doubt very much.

If they really had concerns about the risk that this legal trade would cover smuggling, they would not have postponed their decision for only 2 weeks, but would have simply cancelled it.

I have no confidence at all with the Chinese. A manager of one of the private reserves near the Kruger advised me to watch this hidden-camera report made by Al Jazeera on poaching and smuggling. Contrary to what the chinese authorities say ("we condemn poaching, it is made by private individuals, we cooperate etc..."), they take advantage of official visits and diplomatic immunities to send big quantities of ivory and horn in China...

https://youtu.be/JMguWY99q6s

[Lisbeth]

An old story, but I had not seen the video before and it is most revealing.

To make it short the smugglers simply buy their way through in China and in SA. From high-level officials, customs and even travelling diplomatic luggage. In SA there seems to be no limit to the dealers' arrogance.

Even if the Chinese are going to prohibit trade again, nothing will change, it is just a gesture.

A Vietnamese running a rhino farm would be hilarious if it wasn't so sad

[Lisbeth]

The governments sign in public and spend in private. Ivory spending sprees in Tanzania. The governments are not committed.

I wonder if Mr Wu is still doing business in SA

It's disgraceful; certain people are shameless, immoral and absolutely void of decency

[Lisbeth]

China’s legalisation of rhino horn trade: disaster or opportunity?

November 22, 2018

The Chinese government will be reopening the nation’s domestic rhino horn trade, overturning a ban that has stood since 1993. An outcry since the announcement has led to the postponement of the lifting of the ban, which currently remains in place.

The directive, if instituted, would require that rhino horn be sourced sustainably from farmed animals and that its use is limited to traditional Chinese medicine, scientific and medical research, preserving antique cultural artefacts, and as educational materials.

The announcement has been widely condemned. The United Nations Environmental Program called it “alarming”. But done carefully and correctly, and with necessary international consultation, it doesn’t have to add to the threat to rhinos. Indeed, it could even support rhino conservation.


A legal trade of rhino horns, as seen here, could ensure income goes to legitimate conservation efforts as opposed to criminals. Paul Fleet/Shutterstock

Rhino horns regrow and can be sustainably and humanely harvested from live animals. Those arguing for legalisation say that a well-regulated trade could be a source of funding for expensive rhino conservation. It could also help reduce poverty and support development around protected areas.

A legal trade could also provide an alternative supply of horns, where income goes to legitimate conservation and development efforts, rather than to criminals, which is currently the case.

Rhino horn for medicinal use

The directive from Beijing stipulates that rhino horn for medicinal use must come from rhinos bred specifically outside of zoos (such as at dedicated horn-farming facilities). The ground-up horn powder would then be certified under a scheme developed by a coalition of Chinese regulatory agencies.


China wants to restrict rhino horn use to medicinal purposes only. Dai Kurokawa/EPA

These agencies should draw from China’s experience regulating the medicinal use of pangolin scales to make sure poached horn does not infiltrate the legal marketplace. Though strictly controlled since 2008, illegal pangolin products continue to be seized frequently throughout China.

According to the directive, the medicinal use of rhino horn will be restricted to treating urgent, serious and rare diseases. This is consistent with what traditional Chinese medicine practitioners see as the appropriate application of rhino horn. Strict guides for clinical application will be needed to prevent misuse and overuse, particularly given the length of time that rhino horn has been unavailable to law-abiding clinicians.

Existing rhino horn stocks

Beyond medicine, the directive stipulates that people who already own horns will be able to declare their stocks. The government will then issue identification and certification records. After this, the horns must be sealed and stored safely, and not traded under any circumstances, barring gift-giving and inheritance.

This part of the directive is particularly concerning, as such a scheme will be complex, potentially giving owners of poached rhino horns smuggled into China a get-out-of-jail-free card. Lessons should be learned from the ivory trade in Hong Kong, where poached ivory has been laundered into legal stocks thanks to inadequate record-keeping and lax enforcement.

This section of the directive also raises concerns about the development of a socially accepted practice of gifting rhino horn akin to that of Vietnam. There, rhino horn has been found to be given as a gift for terminally ill family members and in business settings, where horns are offered as bribes to government officials. Strict enforcement will essential if China is to make sure illegal trading under the guise of gifts is not to spread.


China will have to work with countries where the rhinos live in Asia and Africa. Kevin Folk/Unsplash

Working with China

China will have to work with countries where rhinos live, including range states in both Asia and in Africa, as well as other rhino conservation stakeholders around the world. Swaziland and South Africa have previously proposed legalising the international trade in horn as a mechanism to fund and bolster conservation efforts.

Domestic trade in horn is legal in South Africa, and China and South Africa will have to coordinate to make sure their domestic marketplaces support rhino conservation and don’t enable transnational laundering and trade.

Beijing’s decision has certainly attracted immediate and fierce criticism from some conservation and animal welfare organisations. This criticism is exacerbated by different moral perspectives. Some people see the sale and consumption of rhino horn to fund conservation as morally repulsive. For others, it is legitimate and pragmatic.

Whichever side of the debate you stand on, the priority should be conservation outcomes and making sure that China’s newly legalised domestic horn trade strengthens rather than dangerously undermines rhino protection efforts. Rhino conservationists will need to find common ground with Beijing. This requires an appreciation of different cultural and moral values, and the use of evidence on how to minimise risks to rhino under the directive.

Responding to the widespread criticism, Chinese officials clarified that the implementation of the directive will be postponed. The government has also launched a short-term enforcement drive against illegal trading of rhino horn, which will run until the end of the year.

While heightened enforcement actions are welcome, it indicates that China can do much more to tackle illegal wildlife trade. China must strictly enforce its own regulations once its domestic horn trade has been opened.

Postponing implementation gives Beijing time to develop a detailed and robust set of regulations. Now is the time for rhino range states, conservation scientists and concerned groups around the world to work with Beijing so that the impending domestic horn trade in China can be a positive for rhino conservation.