Despite a global ban on international buying and selling of rhino horn since 1977, the South African government and owners of private rhino reserves continue to stockpile it. A new report by the EMS Foundation, a South African social justice and conservation organisation, advocates strongly against this practice. Ecologist and mammal conservation researcher Jason Gilchrist discusses what the rhino horn stockpile is, its contribution to poaching and whether it should be destroyed.
What is the rhino horn trade?
Rhino horn is not particularly special in terms of its biochemistry. Its composition is close to that of various other mammal horns, hooves and hair. Despite this, and the ban on international sales, rhino horn continues to be illegally trafficked from Africa to Asia – principally China and Vietnam – where there is a demand for the horn. Rhino horn is used as a status symbol (ownership is associated with affluence), linked with use in traditional Chinese medicine and used as an aphrodisiac.
