South African move to legalize domestic trade ‘could stimulate poaching’.
Rhino horn will go on sale legally in South Africa in late August, after a court lifted a domestic trade ban in April. Many expect much of the horn to find its way to East Asia, even though South Africa remains committed to a worldwide ban on international trading.Rhino horn will go on sale legally in South Africa in late August, after a court lifted a domestic trade ban in April. Many expect much of the horn to find its way to East Asia, even though South Africa remains committed to a worldwide ban on international trading.Rhino horn will go on sale legally in South Africa in late August, after a court lifted a domestic trade ban in April. Many expect much of the horn to find its way to East Asia, even though South Africa remains committed to a worldwide ban on international trading.
The ruling, by South Africa’s Constitutional Court, has sparked concerns that legalizing the domestic trade will provide trafficking loopholes for horns destined for markets such as China, Laos and Hong Kong, the three main destinations for horns smuggled out of South Africa. Indeed, on Aug. 12, Hong Kong Customs sezied 2.6kg of “suspected rhino horn,” with an estimated market value of 67,000 dollars, from an airline passenger arriving from Johannesburg.
The first legal auction will take place online on Aug. 21-24, with a second scheduled for Sept. 19, after official permits are granted to John Hume, the country’s largest private rhino breeder.
Conservationists opposed to the legalization of the domestic trade attacked the court’s decision to lift an eight-year ban, fearing it would encourage poachers, fuel demand for Asian medical potions using horn, and enrich private breeders such as Hume.
The world’s rhino population has reached a critical low point. There are fewer than 50,000 left in the wild, according to estimates by Save The Rhino, a charity.
Save The Rhino said there is no South African demand for horn, and warned that the planned auctions could attract bidders intending to smuggle horns to Asia. The demand for rhino horn stems mainly from traditional Chinese medicine. Horn, made up of the protein keratin, is believed to cure conditions ranging from headaches to cancer, despite a lack of scientific evidence.
Status symbol
Because of its increasing rarity, rhino horn is also considered a symbol of status and wealth in some parts of East Asia, and is sometimes used to close business deals. These practices have had a devastating effect on the South African rhino, which is threatened with extinction.
Hume owns the world’s biggest private rhino-breeding farm, with more than 1,000 rhinos roaming 8,000 hectares of land — an area almost the size of Manhattan.
Rhino horn regrows at a rate of about 6cm to 12cm a year, and Hume has amassed more than 6 tons, which is kept in secret storage facilities in South Africa.
