Greed!

Why does the demand for rhino horn persist? After all, rhino horn has no proven medicinal value.

However, China (using rhinos imported from South Africa) is engaged in a profit-seeking scheme that depends on sick people using rhino horn instead of taking medicine.

Check out the ‘Bogus Medicine’ video:

Want more?

See “Revealed: China’s ‘Rhino Horn Cancer Treatment’ Scheme” — and be sure the read the timeline articles.

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. I am the Editor of Rhino Horn is Not Medicine and Project Pangolin, author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, and a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

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See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

Wow!

This is not just any cake – it’s a cake in the shape of a rhino!

Check out the video below to see this gorgeous rhino cake from all angles.

The cake is from Ava Sweet Cakes, which specializes in custom 3D cakes.

A rhino-shaped cake or a cake decorated like a rhino would be a fun project for World Rhino Day!

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. I am the Editor of Rhino Horn is Not Medicine and Project Pangolin, author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, and a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

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See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

Another inconvenient truth.

Despite a series of troubling indicators that should have alerted South African authorities to China’s intentions to breed rhinos commercially in order to harvest their horns, over 100 live rhinos were exported from South Africa to China between 2007 and the present.

Disconcerting timeline

South Africa’s rhino crisis is surrounded by a disconcerting timeline of events in China.

Let’s take a look.

2007: Chinese government infuses traditional Chinese medicine research with USD $130 million – five times more than the previous year’s budget – to “standardize and modernize” traditional Chinese medicine. Read the entire article:

• Eastern Medicine Goes West (September 14^th, 2007. The Wall Street Journal – WSJ.com)

2008: Chinese research proposal reveals location of China’s ‘rhino farm’ and ‘horn harvesting experiments’, along with intentions to circumvent CITES. For additional information, see:

• Revealed: Location of China’s Rhino Farm and Horn Harvesting Experiments (July 20^th, 2010)
• Chinese Researchers Hope to Turn Rhino Horn Cultivation into Thriving Enterprise While Avoiding CITES Scrutiny (November 17^th, 2010)

2009: Chinese research proposal recommends acquisition and stockpiling of rhino horn. Check out the following to learn more:

• Concern Grows Over Possible Links Between Rhino Horn Demand and China’s State-Funded TCM Research (October 5^th, 2010)

2010: At least 18 live rhinos exported to China from South Africa during a six-month period. To learn more, see:

• Chinese News Reports Arrival of 12 Rhinos from South Africa (August 3^rd, 2010)
• Reports of More Rhinos Arriving in China from South Africa (December 19^th, 2010)

2010: China’s patent office reportedly published a patent application for a “self-suction living rhinoceros horn-scraping tool”. See:

• Killing Fields: Africa’s Rhinos Under Threat (June 13^th, 2011. TIME)

During the same time period, take note of the increased market demand for rhino horn, as evidenced by rhinos illegally killed in South Africa.

• 2007: 13
• 2008: 83
• 2009: 122
• 2010: 333

At least 173 rhinos have been killed in South Africa during the first six months of 2011, according to SANParks on June 6^th.

‘Approved and acceptable destinations’

Although international commercial trade in rhinos and rhino products is prohibited, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species ™ notes that there is an exception.

… the South African population of Southern White Rhino was downlisted in 1994 to Appendix II, but only for trade in live animals to “approved and acceptable destinations” and for the (continued) export of hunting trophies.

According to CITES, such trade is not supposed to be for commercial purposes.

An import permit shall only be granted when the following conditions have been met: … (c) a Management Authority of the State of import is satisfied that the specimen is not to be used for primarily commercial purposes.

It is also relevant here that a 2006 document prepared by China’s CITES Management Authority clearly states that rhino horn can be researched only if the purpose of the research is to identify a substitute for its use in traditional Chinese medicine. ¹

[The Notification] also requires registering and sealing up all rhino horn, tiger bone and their products (except for uses on researches of substitutes).

China currently has plans to import at least 40 more rhinos this year.

In plain sight

The entire situation is deplorable.

Perhaps even more unsettling is that it has been developing for years, in plain sight, for anyone who cared to look.

All images © Saving Rhinos LLC

1. CITES Management Authority. (2006). Report on Implementing Resolution Conf.12.5 of CITES. People’s Republic of China.

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. I am the Editor of Rhino Horn is Not Medicine and Project Pangolin, author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, and a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

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See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

The insatiable demand for rhino horn has taken two innocent lives at once.

A female rhino was found butchered last weekend, with her horns missing, in the Borakalalo National Park near Brits. Tragically, the rhino was pregnant.

According to iafrica.com, the rhino had been shot a few days earlier.

The rhino was shot some time last week and her carcass was discovered on Sunday in a dam at the park. Her horn had been taken.

A ballistics team is reportedly investigating the incident.

Illegal rhino horn business ‘booming’

Rhino poaching has returned to South Africa with a vengeance and the illegal rhino horn business is booming. The killing has reached a 16-year high, with more than 600 rhinos slaughtered since 2005.

Illegal rhino horn is still in high demand for traditional medicines in China and Vietnam, despite the fact that rhino horn has been extensively analyzed and found to be of no medicinal value.

Most rhino horn leaving southern Africa is destined for China and Vietnam, according to the latest research by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.

Source: iafrica.com

Image: istock.com

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. Besides writing Rhino Horn is Not Medicine, I am the author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, the Editor of Project Pangolin, and a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

A simple click will now translate our blog into any one of 51 languages!

In order to better serve our global audience, the Saving Rhinos blog now features a useful Google Translate™ menu. It’s right there on the upper right hand side, above the “Welcome” message.

While the Google Translate™ tool may not offer the precision of a live professional translator, the price is right: It’s free.

Enjoy!

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. Besides writing Rhino Horn is Not Medicine, I am the author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, the Editor of Project Pangolin, and a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

Is is acceptable to turn rhino horn into a commodity and profit from ignorance?

As the world begins to take a closer look at the scourge of rhino killings that is sweeping South Africa, the issue of legalized trade in rhino horn has resurfaced again.

Proponents of legalized trade in rhino horn, such as Wildlife Ranching South Africa (WRSA) argue that trade would created revenue for wildlife conservation and that it would eliminate the risk of rhinos being killed for their horns by outside syndicates.

Supporters also point out that rhino horn is a renewable resource that is in demand. They say that by keeping the trade illegal, South African game farmers are being deprived of potential income and business opportunities.

And who could blame them?

Illegal trade in rhino horn is big international business. Recently, game farmer Dawie Groenewald easily posted bail of R1 million after being arrested for his alleged involvement with a rhino crime syndicate.

Groenewald was just one more reason to make people see dollar signs in rhino horns.

He is believed to have maximized his profits by slaughtering rhinos purchased at auction after selling their horns.

The immediate impact of ‘legal’ sales

To get a glimpse of the possible immediate impact of legalized trade in rhino horn, take a look at CITES’ fateful decision to allow a one-off sale of ivory stockpiles in 2008.

Over 10,000 dead elephants were represented by 119 tons (108 tonnes) of ivory sold to China and Japan.

The result? A whetting of the infamous Chinese appetite for ivory and the return of the dark days of widespread slaughter of elephants.

This gruesome situation is compounded by the fact that the Chinese footprint in Africa is becoming ever larger, putting the demand perilously close to the supply.

And the population of eager rhino horn “customers” is growing at a much faster rate than a rhino’s horn.

Regulating legalized trade in rhinos

Another promise made by supporters of legalized trade in rhino horn is that it would be tightly controlled and strictly monitored. WRSA spokesperson Reinhardt Holtzhausen explained that legal trade in rhino horn would be strictly monitored and that private game owners would simply hand over their rhino horns to the government, in exchange for compensation.

He said the South African government would be in charge of dealing in rhino horn.

But limited legal trade in rhinos already exists – and it is indeed a far cry from being “tightly controlled” and “strictly monitored” in South Africa.

In fact, several well-known people who were recently arrested for suspected involvement in rhino crime syndicates were “legally” trading in rhinos. The suspects included game farmers, safari operators, and professional hunters.

Investigations by wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC also revealed Vietnamese nationals gained access to rhino horn by posing as trophy hunting “clients” in South Africa.

The findings strongly suggest that the trophy hunt operators were aware of this pattern and were enjoying additional profits because of their clients’ intentions.

Is this the appropriate environment for introducing more opportunities for regulatory abuse?

Smokescreens

Fraught with easily exploited loopholes, inconsistent monitoring, and lack of centralized controls, South Africa’s existing legal trade in rhinos has already proven itself to be a smokescreen for illegal trade.

Dr. Morné du Plessis, the CEO of WWF South Africa, noted that the arrests of game farmers in the recent high profile rhino crime syndicate case illustrates the fact that legal rhino trade is likely to serve as a laundering vehicle for illegal rhino horn.

The recent string of high-profile arrests shows that people within the private game farming industry are involved in poaching. The issue is, therefore, a little more complicated than simply legalising the trade in rhino horn. For example, it would allow poachers to launder illegally gotten rhino horns.

Indeed, each series of arrests suggests there is already corruption within the rhino “conservation” community.

Myths

The notion of rhino horn as a “medicine” is nothing more than a cultural myth without any scientific basis. Rhino horn has already been extensively analyzed and found to be of no medicinal value.

Sadly, it appears that some people have become so greedy and shortsighted that they are willing to build a business enterprise that depends on exploiting myths and superstitions about rhino horn.

Image: istock.com

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. Besides writing Rhino Horn is Not Medicine, I am the author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, the Editor of Project Pangolin, and a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

I got inked for rhinos.

For quite some time now, I have been entertaining the idea of getting a rhino tattoo.

With the designation of September as “rhino month”, the upcoming “Make Noise for Rhinos Day” on September 22^nd, and the current anti-poaching campaign for rhinos, I decided this would be the perfect time to get inked for rhinos, and I’ve posted a few photos of my tattoo experience.

I would like to say a rhino-sized thank you to tattoo artist Mark Bode at Sacred Rose Tattoo in Berkeley, California, for his absolutely stunning work on this most meaningful piece of art.

I chose my right shoulder for the location of the tattoo because I’m a right-handed writer, and this rhino embodies my beloved subject matter.

Rhino in progress: Although my skin is red and raised, the tattoo process was painless. It felt like a soft, steady scratching, and that’s it.

This is a fantastic shot of Mark working his artistic magic. You can see the original illustration in the background.

Fresh ink: Finished single needle tattoo – gorgeous! The detail is extraordinary. I can’t stop looking at it myself!

Sacred Rose Tattoo was named Best Tattoo Shop in the San Francisco Bay Area. And, please stop by the official Mark Bode website and check out his amazing illustrative art.

Photos by Rick Young, Berkeley, CA. Thanks, Rick – the photos are fabulous!

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. Besides writing Rhino Horn is Not Medicine, I am the author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, the Editor of Project Pangolin, and a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

This month’s book is The Lizard King: The True Crimes and Passions of the World’s Greatest Reptile Smugglers by Bryan Christy.

Book Summary: The Lizard King takes the reader on a thrilling journey into the heart of the reptile smuggling world.

Infamous animal trafficker Anson Wong – who was recently arrested in Malaysia – is just one of the real-life villains portrayed in this shocking organized crime exposé.

The book chronicles the intimate details of U.S. federal agent Chip Bepler’s global pursuit to track down and convict the kingpins of the world’s most notorious reptile trafficking syndicates.

Fighting an uphill battle against the traffickers’ exploitation of legal trade loopholes and forged paperwork, Agent Bepler is also at odds with a court system that seems at times to have little sympathy for the helpless, scaly victims of this organized crime subculture.

Why this book is important: The Lizard King is the ultimate example of how legal trade in rare and endangered species actually serves as a smokescreen for illegal trafficking.

Time and again throughout this book, we are shown the tricks and schemes that wildlife smugglers use to launder their illegal wares. The laws and systems designed to protect threatened species are tragically exploited, as customs agents and wildlife authorities at every level are corrupted by the lucrative rewards of illegal wildlife trade.

However, the book also tells an unforgettable story of determination and triumph – offering hope and heroes when we need them most.

Quotable moment:

Wildlife dealers, zoos, and museums all over the world knew that if they could pay for it, Anson [Wong] could get it for them. Africa, South America – it didn’t matter. Wong could get anything: snow leopard pelts, panda skins, rhino horns. He had operations in Vietnam. He raised tigers to be stuffed and sold as trophies.

Where to purchase The Lizard King: The True Crimes and Passions of the World’s Greatest Reptile Smugglers

You can purchase The Lizard King: The True Crimes and Passions of the World’s Greatest Reptile Smugglers online at Amazon.com.

Learn more about The Lizard King

To learn more:

• Bryan Christy’s website: thelizardkingbook.com
• National Geographic: The Kingpin
• Anson Wong’s arrest: No Perhilitan Protection for Lizard King

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. Besides writing Rhino Horn is Not Medicine, I am the author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, the Editor of Project Pangolin, and a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

Should trade in rhino horn be legalized?

A vigorous debate about the controversial idea of legalizing trade in rhino horn has erupted and is now in full swing on social media networks and the blogosphere.

Supporters such as Wildlife Ranching South Africa (WRSA) claim that legal trade would be tightly monitored and a way to raise funds for rhino conservation. Opponents point out that legal trade would increase demand for rhino horn products and make poaching even more profitable by creating avenues to launder illegal rhino horn.

In this article, we take a look at some of the existing opportunities for limited legal trade relating to rhino horn and how they may already be contributing to illegal trade, and ultimately, killing rhinos.

1. Trophy hunting

Although trophy hunting of rhino is legal in South Africa, several troubling incidents point to trophy hunting as a laundering vehicle for illegal rhino horn.

For example, two high-profile professional hunters, George Fletcher of Sandhurst Safaris and Gert Saaiman of Saaiman Hunting Safaris, were found to be at the center of a rhino poaching syndicate bust.

According to a report filed by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), professional hunters Saaiman and Fletcher are among those awaiting trial in October 2010 for racketeering, money laundering, various counts of theft, malicious damage to property and contraventions of the various provincial Conservation Acts and the Aviation Act.

A helicopter and small Aerostar plane belonging to Saaiman were among the assets seized by the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU)

It is alleged that the accused committed these offences as members of a group consisting of hunters, a pilot, middlemen (agents) and buyers, who illegally hunted rhinos and traded in the horns stolen from the rhino carcasses.

The Aerostar was used to locate the rhinos in various National Parks around the country. It was also used to transport poachers to different national parks where the rhinos were spotted. The rhinos would be shot and dehorned.

The Aerostar would then be used to transport horns to George Fletcher’s farm in Tosca.

Investigations by wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC also revealed Vietnamese nationals gained access to rhino horn by posing as trophy hunting “clients” in South Africa.

The findings strongly suggest that the trophy hunt operators were aware of this pattern and were enjoying additional profits because of their clients’ intentions.

The frequent involvement of a small number of Vietnamese nationals, often on the same game ranches repeatedly; numerous cases whereby Vietnamese “trophy hunters” paid above market price for rhino hunts, but then had to be instructed how to shoot and would completely forego any proper trophy preparation; the issuance of export permits for rhino trophies to Vietnamese nationals who had previously been identified in ongoing rhino crime investigations …

In a recent rhino horn smuggling case, a Vietnamese court sentenced Tran Van Lap of Hanoi to three years in jail for attempting to transport five rhino horns from South Africa to Vietnam.

It is noteworthy that four of the horns were obtained by Lap via a “legal” trophy hunt – however, authorities suspected that the documentation had been falsified. Next page >>

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. Besides writing Rhino Horn is Not Medicine, I am the author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, the Editor of Project Pangolin, and a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

Listen to a one-hour discussion of the illegal rhino horn trade on The WildLife with Laurel Neme.

Recently, I had the exciting opportunity to be a guest on “The WildLife”, a radio talk show hosted by Dr. Laurel Neme. We discussed the illegal trade in rhino horn and the fact that because rhino horn has no real medicinal properties, this multimillion dollar illegal trade is built on a myth.

To listen to the podcast, click the green arrow below:

The radio spot was a chance to bring attention to Saving Rhinos’ efforts to bust the myths about rhino horn – which in turn would eliminate the market for rhino horn. I also stressed the importance of treating the illegal rhino horn trade as an organized crime issue, and shared my position on burning stockpiles of confiscated rhino horn as a statement to show the world that rhinos are more valuable alive than dead.

Dr. Laurel Neme is the author of Animal Investigators: How the World’s First Wildlife Forensics Lab is Solving Crimes and Saving Endangered Species. I enthusiastically recommend her book – check out the review here.

Learn more about Dr. Neme at CSI for Wildlife.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. Besides writing Rhino Horn is Not Medicine, I am the author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, the Editor of Project Pangolin, and a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.