Thieves thwarted (sort of).
The bad news: Another UK museum struck by the rhino crisis. The good news: Resin replicas, not real rhino horns, were stolen.
Due to the alarming increase in rhino horn thefts from museums, the Natural History Museum in Tring, Hertfordshire, had reportedly replaced the rhino horns on two exhibits with resin replicas about three months ago.
The resin horns appeared to have been removed with “a large hammer.”
Rhino horn thefts
Antique rhino horn robberies are on the rise, as organized criminal gangs target museums, art galleries, and private collections to feed a thriving market for illegal rhino horn.
This crime wave is driven by demand from China and Vietnam, where rhino horn is believed to cure almost everything, despite scientific evidence to the contrary. (Rhino horn has never been “prescribed” as an aphrodisiac in Chinese medicine; this is a widespread misconception.)
In addition to museum thefts, loopholes in the antiques trade have been exploited in order to export these items to China and other rhino horn consumer countries, while rhino killings have escalated in South Africa.
Read more at Disturbing Connection between Antique Rhino Horn ‘Activity’ and Rhino Killings in South Africa.
Image by Laslovarga via Wikimedia Commons
![Rhino Horns and Trophies Exported to Asia from South Africa 2000 – 2010 [Infographic]](http://www.rhinoconservation.org/wp-content/plugins/special-recent-posts/lib/phpimage.php?width=100&height=100&rotation=no&file=L2hvbWUyL2Jpb2RpdmUxL3B1YmxpY19odG1sL3dwLWNvbnRlbnQvdXBsb2Fkcy8yMDEyLzA1L1JoaW5vVHJvcGhpZXNIb3Juc0luZm9ncmFwaGljVGh1bWJuYWlsLmpwZw==)
