H. erectus wrote:How long does it actually take for a horn to grow, from the base
to a average size/weight???
I don't know what would be considered average size. I would guess the value goes up exponetially with weight and length, the biggest specimens probably fetching prime prices as whole showpieces in the lounges of the very affluent.
I've heard 3 years to "harvesting", but I've also heard 5. I'm guessing a 5 year horn would be worth more than double a three year horn.
Whatever the case, as long as we keep them alive, rhino keep growing horn and elephant keep growing ivory. Some animals die naturally, some are found with bullet wounds and their horns/ivory still attached. I'm surprised by the high figure of the "national stockpile" of horn that is quoted, but having thought it through, I believe that it is entirely plausible. And the stockpile will grow.
Are we going to burn it like Kenya did its ivory, or should we trade it? I'm still undecided about the pro/anti trade debate, but I'm beginning to lean towards pro trade. Not the "flood the market" approach. I don't see that working for long. Ivory poaching is said to have increased after the release of legal ivory unto the markets.
I'm beginning to see sense in allowing sustainable utilization principles applied to rhino and their horns. Did commercial participation in rhino breeding and hunting not lead to a dramtic increase in their numbers outside the KZN and National Parks? Legal, commercial stakeholders in rhino horn, protecting their turf, will surely increase the pressure on the illegal trade?
These are pressing problems that require clear thinking, not knee-jerk outrage at everything coming from .gov and the various Parks.
(edited a typo, not content)
