Rhino Horn is NOT Medicine » Chinese

‘Bogus Medicine: China’s Rhino Horn Scheme’ [Video]

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:43:44 +0000

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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India: Suspect Arrested for Attempting to Kill Rhinos in Zoo

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 07:42:47 +0000

An extremely disturbing incident.

Police in Guwahati have arrested a man identified as Chin Khansong after he sneaked into the Assam State Zoo with a .303 rifle, ammunition, an axe, and a machete. The suspect confessed he was planning to kill “as many rhinos as possible” in order to sell their horns.

Nine greater one-horned rhinos reside at the zoo.

According to the Hindustan Times, Khansong is from the Churachandpur district of Manipur.

He had apparently scaled the zoo’s wall during the night, hoping the facility would be empty during Magh Bihu (Assam’s harvest festival).

Last year, the Thoiry zoo and wildlife park near Paris placed its rhinos under camera surveillance for added security.

Tiger killed inside zoo

In August 2009, a Sumatran tiger was killed and skinned inside her enclosure at Rimbo Zoo in Indonesia.

The tiger’s skin, along with the various body parts in demand for traditional Chinese medicine, were taken from the tiger’s enclosure.

Two people identified as Akmamul Mukminin and Samsudin alias Udin Bolu were later arrested for killing the tiger. Samsudin was sentenced to 46 months in jail.

Photo © iStockphoto.com

Rhishja Cota-Larson

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South African Court Sentences Chinese National to Jail for Rhino Horn Possession

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:48:46 +0000

Check out the video of China’s ‘rhino horn farm’ at the end of the article.

The Germiston Regional Court has reportedly sentenced Chinese national Hsu Hsien Lung to six years in jail after he was found in possession of two rhino horns.

According to The Citizen Online, Lung was arrested in May 2011 in Bedfordview, Johannesburg. Col. McIntosh Polela was quoted as saying that the “jail sentence sends a strong message to other would-be offenders”.

South Africa’s rhino death toll has passed 400 this year, driven by demand from China and Vietnam, where rhino horn is believed to have medicinal properties, despite scientific evidence proving otherwise.

Rhino horn ‘suppliers’ fueling demand

However, it’s not only the citizens of rhino horn consumer countries who are responsible for the surging demand.

The crisis has been exacerbated by rhino horn suppliers in South Africa, who continue to fuel the illegal trade by attempting to garner support for a “legal” rhino horn trade, in hopes of profiting from medicinal myths about rhino horn.

It was also revealed that South Africa exported over 100 live rhinos to China, where a multimillion-dollar rhino horn farming scheme has apparently been established by exploiting CITES research loopholes.

Video of China’s “rhino horn farm” (populated with rhinos from South Africa):

Image © iStockphoto

Rhishja Cota-Larson

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List of 10 Useful ‘Rhino Horn is Not Medicine’ Quotes (with Source Links!)

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 22:06:22 +0000

“The truth is on the march and nothing will stop it.” – Emile Zola

The world’s leading conservation and environmental organizations – among others – are speaking out against the use of rhino horn as a medical treatment. Check out this list of quotes with source links and a few videos.

Rhino horn quotes

“Although there is no scientific proof of its medical value, rhino horn is highly prized in traditional Asian medicine, where it is ground into a fine powder or manufactured into tablets as a treatment for a variety of illnesses such as nosebleeds, strokes, convulsions, and fevers.” – WWF, African Rhino Poaching Crisis

“The unfounded rumour that rhino horn can cure cancer most likely sealed the fate of the last Javan rhino in Vietnam. This same problem is now threatening other rhino populations across Africa and South Asia.” – Dr. A. Christy Williams, WWF, Rhino horn demand leads to record poaching

“We will be leading global action to clamp down on this cruel and archaic trade, and to dispel the myths peddled to vulnerable people that drive demand for rhino products.” – UK Environment Secretary Caroline Spelmen, UK to lead international rhino horn clampdown

“The tragedy is that rhino horn is made of keratin, the same stuff that makes up human hair and nails. It has no medicinal value, you might as well eat your fingernails.” – Mark Jones, Executive Director, Humane Society International/UK, It is devastating to see rhinos killed for a cure that doesn’t work

“To all this, I say that something that works for everything usually works for nothing. I also say that something that has been used for hundreds or thousands of years does not make it right.” – Dr. Albert Lim Kok Hooi, oncologist, A horny story

“Apparently, based on the results of this study, rhinoceros horn can reduce fever, but only at rather high dosage levels when prescribed as a single drug.” – Ethnopharmacology of Rhinoceros Horn. I: Antipyretic Effects of Rhinoceros Horn and Other Animal Horns. In this study, fever-induced rats showed temporary lowering of temperature after being injected with an extremely high concentration of rhino horn extract, however, there was no antipyretic effect at the dosage levels comparable to what would be prescribed to a human patient. Download the study here.

“The Secretariat is also very conscious, however, of the need to respond to the belief that rhinoceros horn is efficacious in the treatment or prevention of cancer. It is despicable that criminals are financially exploiting sufferers, and their relatives, at a time when they will be struggling to cope with distressing and sometimes terminal medical conditions.” – CITES (CoP15 Doc. 45.1). Download it here.

Regarding rumors that rhino horn is a cancer treatment: “There is no evidence that rhino horn is an effective cure for cancer and this is not documented in TCM nor is it approved by the clinical research in traditional Chinese medicine.” – Lixin Huang, Statement opposing the use of rhino horn in medicines by the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine

“Tests also showed that rhino horn, which, like fingernails is made of agglutinated hair, has no analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmolytic nor diuretic properties, and no bactericidal effect could be found against suppuration and intestinal bacteria.” – WWF Scientific Tests Fail to Show Rhino Horn Effective as Medicine

“For some time I have been contemplating to publish a paper which should have a headline in giant newsprint to say that RHINO HORN IS NOT AN APHRODISIAC. There is even no evidence that rhino horn was ever regularly used for this purpose. Such a paper should be followed by another with more giant newsprint announcing that RHINO HORN IS NOT MEDICINAL. Consensus now appears to be that even if rhino horn is mildly anti-pyretic to lower fever symptoms, the benefits do not outweigh those of cheap over-the-counter medicines readily available in any pharmacy.” – Dr. Kees Rookmaaker, Rhino Resource Center Newsletter #25, November 2011

Bonus #11

This is interesting: Even the author of a recently published paper tacitly touting the benefits of China’s rhino farming scheme and legal rhino horn trade has acknowledged that scientific testing has proven rhino horn has no medicinal value (although “believers” in traditional Chinese medicine remain unconvinced).

To the believer in TCM, tests conducted by the Swiss pharmaceutical firm Hoffmann-La Roche, which concluded that rhino horn had no effect on the human body whatsoever, or those carried out by Chinese scientists in Hong Kong, who found that rhino horn did have a cooling effect on fever in laboratory rats but only when used in massive doses, have no relevance.

Download it here.

Videos

Humane Society International: “There’s no scientific proof that rhino horn cures disease.”

Dr. Raj Amin: “There is no evidence at all that any constituent of rhino horn has any medical property. Medically, it’s the same as if you were chewing your own nails.”

World Rhino Day 2011: “At the root of the rhino crisis is the myth that rhino horn contains curative properties. For that reason, World Rhino Day 2011 is highlighting efforts to debunk the myths and diminish the demand for rhino horn.”

Bonus video: “Lone Rhinoceros” (Just wanted to share one of my favorite songs by my favorite guitarist, Adrian Belew.)

Additional

Of interest: Dr. Rookmaaker (whose fantastic quote is #10) does not agree with the citing of #9 (Hoffmann-LaRoche/WWF) because the full academic reports used to document these studies cannot be located, or with Dr. Raj Amin’s video (above) because the study itself was apparently not undertaken at ZSL – not because the information itself is invalid. He simply recommends that alternative studies be cited. (In my opinion, #6 is an alternative study. I still consider #10 and Dr. Amin’s video acceptable sources, as do many others.) You can review his comments here.

Image © iStockphoto.com

Rhishja Cota-Larson

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Rhino Horns Take Top Dollar from Phone Bidder at US Auction

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 21:08:53 +0000

The UK has already cracked down on this smokescreen. Shouldn’t the US do the same?

Asian attendees reportedly drove up the price of two rhino horns before they were sold to a phone bidder at an auction in Missouri.

This increasingly common (and alarming) scenario took place at the “exotic animal and taxidermy auction” held recently by Lolli Brothers Livestock Market in Macon, Missouri.

According to The Atlantic, there were “three groups of Asians” bidding on the rhino horns until the price went north of $100,000, and ultimately to a phone bidder.

… three groups of Asians, lurking on the sale’s perimeter, drove the price up from the low tens of thousands. Once the bid passed the $100,000 mark, buyers in the room began to peel off. One group held on for another $20,000, but lost its nerve when a phone buyer dug deep, ultimately winning the pair of horns with a final bid of $125,000.

A representative from the auction house said he does not know what happens after the horns are purchased by “Oriental” buyers.

The Orientals will buy them, but it’s illegal to export them, so you’ve really got to watch what you’re doing. I don’t know what they do with them.

He added that “the people who come to his auctions are rarely the actual purchasers of rhino horn” and that “it’s all foreign money.”

Could this suggest that the Asian attendees and phone bidder were perhaps working together in some capacity to inflate the price? (Noted with interest.)

Read Malcom Gay’s entire article here.

Abuse of trade loopholes

While this US auction house may claim not to know what is going on with the rhino horns, the UK certainly knows.

The escalating price of antique rhino horn attracted the attention of authorities in the UK after a surge of buyers from the Far East were found to be paying unprecedented prices for mounted rhino horn, with the intention of exporting the horns and having them manufactured into Chinese medicines.

In an effort to crack down on the abuse of trade loopholes, it is now illegal to sell antique rhino horn trophies and mounted rhino horns in the UK.

Learn more about this topic at Disturbing Connection Between Antique Rhino Horn ‘Activity’ and Rhino Killings in South Africa.

Image: © iStockphoto.com

Rhishja Cota-Larson

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Fuss Over ‘Antique Rhinoceros Horn Cups’ Fails to Mention Loss of Life

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 02:09:34 +0000

Warning: Graphic images below.

While there seems to be a considerable amount of media hubbub over a set of antique rhinoceros horn cups appraised on an American TV show today, very little (if any) attention has been paid to the original source of these cups.

The Chinese antique rhinoceros horn cups were said to be worth an extremely high dollar amount.*

The following is a partial list of today’s news about these rhinoceros horn cups – all of which failed to note that for each of these cups, a rhino paid with his or her life.

You can also watch the video clip from PBS’ “Antiques Roadshow” which shows the rhinoceros horn cups and the collector who owns them here.

‘Lust’ for rhino horn

China’s historical lust for rhino horn – whether for carved objects (such as cups) or medicines that don’t actually work – has managed (almost single-handedly) to decimate the Asian rhino populations to a combined total of just over 3,000 individuals.

Greater one-horned rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) population: 2,949
Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) population: 200
Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) population: 48

Sadly, the lust continues.

And with so few rhinos left in all of Asia, heavily funded crime syndicates are turning to African rhinos to meet the demand for illegal rhino horn, which is still considered a key ingredient in Chinese medicines.

The plundering has reached a crisis level in South Africa, where already 200 rhinos have been killed this year.

WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS EXTREMELY GRAPHIC IMAGES.

The female rhino shown in the video was eventually euthanized, due the severity of her injuries.

*Updated 07/29/2011 to remove dollar amount.

Photo courtesy & © Manabjyoti Bora

Rhishja Cota-Larson

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Ten Rhino Horn and Ivory Dealers Arrested in Zimbabwe

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 03:24:53 +0000

Here’s to a job well done!

Two sting operations have reportedly netted ten rhino horn and ivory dealers who were caught trying to sell their illicit goods to Chinese people at Harare’s upscale shopping center, Sam Levy’s Village.

The arrests were made in a joint effort of Zimbabwe Parks, and the Police Minerals and Border Control Unit.

At least three of the suspects are former soldiers.

According to allAfrica.com, suspects Godfrey Nyambuya, Nelson Abraham, Charles Muzenda, Brighton Kucherana, Peter Makaye Murira, David Marahwu were arrested with two rhino horns. The others – Rodgers Aluberto, Thomas and Tongai Saburinyu, and Chriswell Mukwenya – were in possession of four elephant tusks.

Authorities also confiscated a CZ pistol with one round of ammunition from Charles Muzenda.

Learn the facts about rhino horn at Busting the Rhino Horn Medicine Myth with Science.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Rhishja Cota-Larson

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Seven Rhino Horn Smugglers Arrested in Nepal

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 20:02:34 +0000

Busted in Kathmandu.

Nepal’s Central Investigation Bureau has arrested a gang of seven rhino horn smugglers. The accused have been identified as Dipak Bahadur Hamal, Dil Bahadur, Lor Bahadur Gurung, Bhim Bahadur Bishwokarma, Ramesh Hamal, Dinesh Adhikari (“Chari”), and Narayan Shrestha.

According to The Himalayan Times, the gang had a rhino horn in their possession when they were busted in Kathmandu.

Two of the suspects, Dinesh Adhikari (“Chari”) and Dipak Bahadur Hamal have political ties.

A spokesperson for Nepal’s Green Civil Society, BK Dalit, has called for the strictest punishments for “Chari”, stating that his position should not influence sentencing.

There is a trend of letting off wild life body parts smugglers with light punishment due to political pressure and this is likely in the case of Chari as he enjoys the same, so we demand the fullest punishment possible for him.

In addition, Janak Bista of the Shaktikhor-based Third Division PLA Cantonment said that Dipak Bahadur Hamal was arrested while on leave, and should not receive special treatment.

The state should take action against him if he is found guilty.

The National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1973, the suspects face prison sentences from five to fifteen years and fines of Rs 50,000 to 100,000 – or both.

Chitwan National Park authorities will decide the fate of the accused rhino horn smugglers.

Greater one-horned rhinos in Nepal

One of the three Asian rhino species, greater one-horned rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis) were once widespread throughout the northern floodplains and nearby foothills of the Indian sub-continent between Indo-Myanmar border in the east, and Sindh River basin, Pakistan in the west.

Nepal’s most recent rhino census found that the population of greater one-horned rhinos has increased to 534. The count was conducted in April 2011, and revealed an increase of 99 rhinos since the last count in 2008.

Chitwan National Park was found to have 503 rhinos, while 24 reside in Bardia National Park, and Shukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve holds seven of the precious pachyderms.

Today, the remaining 2,949 (includes the new census) greater one-horned rhinos are found only in a few protected areas in northeastern India and lowland Nepal.

Traditional medicine myths continue to threaten rhinos

Although the greater one-horned rhino population is steadily increasing, these rhinos remain under threat of being killed for their horn.

Despite the fact that extensive scientific analysis has confirmed that rhino horn has no medicinal value, myths and superstitions about rhino horn persist throughout China and Vietnam, where rhino horn is considered a key ingredient of traditional Chinese medicine.

How to help

To learn more about our efforts to help support public awareness activities in Nepal, check out Update from Nepal: A Successful Year of Raising Public Awareness About Rhino Conservation.

We appreciate your help in educating others through sharing our articles, and for your continued support through rhino t-shirt sales.

Rhishja Cota-Larson

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Concern Grows Around South Africa’s Legal Trade in Live Rhinos

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 01:24:50 +0000

Is there something sinister lurking behind South Africa’s legal rhino trade?

As the rhino death toll continues to rise in South Africa, disconcerting information regarding the country’s legal rhino trade continues to emerge.

One of the most well-known (“alleged”) exploiters of legal trade loopholes is Dawie Groenewald of the notorious “Groenewald gang“, who legally purchased a significant number of rhinos prior to his arrest in September 2010.

Investigators later found a mass grave of 20 de-horned rhinos on Groenewald’s property.

Groenewald’s heinous activities are part of a deadly scourge – using rhino trade loopholes to launder rhino horn – and there is no shortage of others like him, who are more than willing to cash in on medicinal myths about rhino horn.

Let’s take a look at the scams and schemes.

Public documents obtained from South Africa’s Parliamentary Monitoring Group website indicate that in 2008, a “Mr. J.F Hurne” purchased at least six rhinos at auction and subsequently delivered them to a “Mr. D. Groenewald”. *

More recently, there is unconfirmed information circulating via mass email and social media networks of a 2011 transaction between Dawie Groenewald and a “Mr. John Hume” (a prolific game rancher mentioned in Bloomberg) involving the sale of nine rhinos. Update 07/14: It is now confirmed by IOL that Groenewald “has a contract” to buy nine rhinos. If the deal goes through, three male rhinos will be sent to Groenewald’s Prachtig property and the six female rhinos will be sent to Hume’s ranch.

Hume is (by his own admittance to Bloomberg) an advocate of legalized trade in rhino horn, and connected to professional hunter Peter Thormahlen, who was twice arrested for suspected involvement with Vietnamese “pseudo-hunts.”

Even Peter Thormahlen has been prosecuted for leading hunts feeding the horn trade. In 2006 at the Loskop Dam Nature Game Reserve, he paid a token fine after his Vietnamese hunter casually told an official that he did not know how to shoot.

The second time, in Limpopo province in 2008, Thormahlen was indignant and fought the citation in court with the help of lawyer Tom Dreyer.

(Thormahlen’s second case was dismissed.)

‘A significant number of rhinos’

According to the publicly available document referenced above, which shows a series of rhino transactions from 2007 to 2010, Dawie Groenewald and/or a “Mr. D. Groenewald” seems to have acquired a significant number of rhinos between 2008 and 2010. Take a look:

2008

Six rhinos previously referenced:

2009

Here’s a rather large acquisition worth noting (2009):

2010

Meanwhile, copies of permits granting Dawie Groenewald permission to “hunt or convey” white rhinos – issued despite his arrest in 2010 – are circulating via email and have now surfaced on various social media networks, such as Facebook®.

Take a look at the permit copies here.

(If you are using Facebook®, you can easily locate these images.)

Laundering rhino horn with hunting safaris

Just days ago, a Thai national named Chumlong Lemtongthai was arrested – along with five Thai “hunters” – in South Africa.

Lemongthai had allegedly arranged rhino hunting expeditions for the purpose of buying the horns from the hunters. He would then ship the horns abroad to be used illegally in traditional Chinese medicine.

However, the identity of the South African trophy hunt operators who aided Lemongthai remains unclear.

WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS IMAGES OF HUNTING.

To learn more about how South African hunting safaris are used as a front for trafficking illegal rhino horn, check out Mules Hunting Rhinos? Sinister Scam Unfolds in South Africa.

China’s rhino horn scheme

It is highly unlikely that China’s multimillion dollar rhino farming scheme could have developed without South Africa’s willingness to legally export over 100 live rhinos to China between 2007 and the present.

Despite the fact that China (along with Vietnam) had already been implicated as a destination for illegal rhino horn sourced from Southern Africa , at least 18 rhinos were exported to China from South Africa during a six-month period in 2010.

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)

What is particularly disturbing about these multiple rhino deals between South Africa and China is that in addition to the escalation in rhino killings between 2008 and the present, there was no shortage of indicators that should have been noted by the country of export, South Africa.

The first was in 2007, when the Chinese government infused traditional Chinese medicine research with USD $130 million – five times more than the previous year’s budget – to “standardize and modernize” traditional Chinese medicine. How did this not pique the interest of authorities?

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

Then in 2008, a Chinese research proposal revealed the 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)

Another Chinese research proposal recommends the 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)

Why does this matter?

This matters because there is growing evidence which strongly suggests that widespread abuse of South Africa’s existing legal trade loopholes is fueling and feeding the demand for rhino horn, and camouflaging the illegal rhino horn trade.

The extent to which the illegal rhino horn trade is being aided and augmented by legal trade in South Africa – both in live rhinos and trophy exports – is indeed unsettling, and is certainly deserving of deeper scrutiny.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

* In the public document referenced above, “Mr. D. Groenewald” may or may not refer to Dawie Groenewald.

Rhishja Cota-Larson

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Rhino Horn Robbers Strike French Museum and Czech Castle

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 01:59:51 +0000

The epidemic continues to spread.

A French museum and a Czech castle are the latest locations hit by thieves who are cashing in on the illegal rhino horn trade.

The natural history museum in Blois, France, was reportedly struck over the weekend. Museum staff discovered on Saturday morning that a rhino head exhibit weighing about 200 pounds (100 kilograms) was missing.

Meanwhile, The Montreal Gazette noted that three rhino trophies were stolen from a Czech castle, apparently during a nightly tour. The trophies were obtained in 1898 from Africa and Asia by the head of the aristocratic house of Liechtensteiner.

Irish gang targeting rhino horn

The European law enforcement agency Europol recently issued a threat notice regarding the illegal trade in rhino horn. Investigations have revealed the involvement of a mobile Organised Crime Group (OCG) of Irish origin, which is specializing in the trafficking of illegal rhino horn.

Europol warns that this Irish OCG is active in the EU, UK, France, USA, South America, South Africa, China, and Australia.

Despite the fact rhino horn has been rigorously analyzed and contains no medicinal properties, it is still used illegally in East and Southeast Asia, particularly China and Vietnam.

Rhishja Cota-Larson

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