Legalise rhino horn trade? Researchers call for a rethink

The international trade in rhino horns should be legalised, a leading wildlife expert demands. In the academic journal Science Martin Wikelski writes that only a carefully monitored, legal trade in rhino horns can save the world's remaining rhino species.

Controlled trade as a last resort?

«A few years ago I was very much against this idea, but now, given the dire situation we find ourselves in, I believe we need to change our attitude on the subject of rhino horn trade,» said Wikelski of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany.

«International criminal syndicates have overcome every countermeasure that conservationists have taken to protect rhinos from poachers. The result is a drastic decline in animal populations. By legalising the rhino horn trade, we can regain control of the market and stop the losses.»

Wikelski's idea would be to remove the horn, allow a new one to grow, and sell the horn to generate revenue. This money could be used for the protection of rhino species Currently, harvested horn is stored in secure vaults.

Criticism from conservationists

The proposal to use stockpiles for a legal rhino horn trade has, however, triggered concerned responses from many conservationists, who reject the notion that such a system would save the rhino from the attention of poachers. The current demand for illegal rhino horn already far exceeds the potential legal supply and is expected to rise further with increasing prosperity in consumer countries, they argue.

«Furthermore, a legal market for rhino horn could increase demand, provide opportunities for money laundering, and make it more difficult for law enforcement agencies to distinguish legal from illegal sources,» wrote Rascha Nuijten, Director of the Future For Nature Foundation, in a response to Wikelski's arguments, also published in Science .

Rhino Horn in Traditional Medicine

Rhinoceros horn is made of keratin, a protein from which hair and fingernails are made, and it is attributed with healing properties in traditional Chinese medicine, although there is no scientific evidence for such claims.

«In Asian medicine it was traditionally prescribed in the belief that it can remove heat and toxins from the body,» said Jo Shaw, CEO of Save the Rhino International. «More recently, demand has become more status-oriented, and rhino horn is now embedded in serious organised, cross-border criminal networks .»

Rhino Populations Worldwide

The impact of this criminal interest has been devastating. At the beginning of the 20th century, half a million rhinos still lived in Africa and Asia. By 1970, only 70,000 remained, and today there are only about 27,000, spread across five species: two from Africa, the black rhino and the white rhino, and three from Asia, the Javan rhino, the Sumatran rhino, and the greater one-horned rhino.

In Africa, there are more than 6,000 black rhinos and more than 17,000 white rhinos, while in India and Nepal there are an estimated 4,000 one-horned rhinos. In contrast, it is believed that there are fewer than 70 Javan rhinos and between 34 and 47 Sumatran rhinos, both of which are found only in Indonesia. The latter two species, along with black rhinos, are classified as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

White Rhinos in Private Ownership

Today, approximately half of the global white rhino population is held in private hands. However, since the late 2000s, demand for white rhino horn and poaching dramatically increased on a large scale. “As a result, owners who act as custodians of the species are abandoning their stewardship, as the costs of protection against poachers are too high and their own safety is threatened,” Wikelski explained.

He added that authorities in state rhino conservation areas such as Kruger National Park in South Africa have decided to continue dehorning rhinos to deter poachers – with limited success. Deaths remain high and have destroyed the social system of rhinos and altered their behaviour. “The answer is the creation of a controllable, traceable trade,” said Wikelski.

Legalisation remains controversial

This claim was, however, questioned by Shaw. “The number of white rhinos has actually increased over the past year, and it is not they who are threatened with extinction. It is the black, Javan and Sumatran rhinos that we really need to worry about, and there is no certainty that legalising trade in white rhino horn will benefit their conservation.”

Rather than taking polarising positions for or against the legalisation of international trade, Shaw believes it would be more helpful to clarify the practical aspects of how such trade could be ensured to benefit all five rhino species. “We need the necessary level of detail and control so that we can be certain that such a game does not cause more harm than good.”