“Reflections on the Conservation and Management of rhino in South Africa”

Dear Rhino Friends,

The ongoing debate on whether dehorning our Rhino and retailing the horn is the answer continues…and in the meantime the poaching continues as well. We would like to raise a few points to ponder - but not for too long as we have very little precious time left for our Rhino - on the consideration of legalizing Rhino horn:

1.   There is a large support for educating the Chinese regarding the medicinal values of Rhino horn – but the Chinese are not going to stop buying Rhino horn, no matter what anyone says or does. Consider spending $1Billion on this education process in an attempt to change the Chinese’s minds on Rhino horn. This will equate to less than $1 per Chinaman as there are more  than a billion of them, and will not even begin to address the Vietnamese, the Korean, the Indian, the Yamane’s, the Thai or any of the other potential users. In other words you stand zero chance of killing the massive demand for Rhino horn.

2.   This demand has no legal source of Rhino horn, so the consumer will buy indiscriminately from illegal sources regardless. But if we could create a sustainable, controllable and legal supply for the demand surely this would be the preferred market.

3.   We now know that if we stop issuing permits, or put White Rhino onto CITES 1, we will simply increase the illegal dealing and poaching. This has statically been proven by Dr. Richard Emslie’s presentation at the last Rhino Summit – “Reflections on the Conservation and Management of Rhino in South Africa”.

4.   Poaching and illegal dealers are indiscriminate in killing Rhino whereas at least the issuing of permits (whether for hunting or export) mostly passes the death sentence on surplus male Rhino. These poachers will kill off pregnant females or females with a calf at foot that is, as a result, orphaned and left for dead, but when controlled by farmers and permit hunting this can be prevented.

5.   These male Rhino are probably killed at an average age of 10 -12 years when hunted legally, not even mentioning the illegal and poached ones. If they could be kept alive, producing approximately 1kg of Rhino horn per annum for the next thirty years, they could again be part of the plan to create a sustainable, controllable and legal supply for the demand. And as confirmed by many Game Veterinarians, the Rhino’s horn can be removed under general anaesthetic; during the 18 minutes that the Rhino is anesthetized, the horn can be removed and the Rhino be treated for ticks and fleas, etc., and immediately thereafter be fully awake, and grazing – with no ill-effect to the Rhino.

6.   No farmer will ever want to kill his Rhino - legally, illegally or any other way - if he can sustainably sell his Rhino horn. The animal will be worth more to everybody alive than dead!

     In conclusion - the possibility that Rhino horn is ineffective for what it may be used for is irrelevant. The urgency and importance is that we need to stop the slaughter of our Rhino, as if we do not they WILL become extinct.

GIVE THEM THE HORN WITHOUT KILLING OUR RHINO!