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Avery Davis

Mr. Phillips

AP Language and Composition

13 December 2017

Are Efforts to Stop Poaching Having the Opposite Effect?

Rhinoceroses in South Africa are brutally slaughtered every year due to high demand of

the prized horn that sits atop their heads. The rhinos are shot, and while lying on the scorching

ground, the poachers begin to saw off their horns -- leaving them to bleed out and die.

Heartbreakingly, it is not uncommon for a mother to be slaughtered in front of her own calf.

There has been an international ban on trading rhino horns since 1977, but until 2009 it was legal

to trade within South Africa, until the domestic trade ban was passed (Richardson). This

domestic ban was in place from 2009 until March of this year, when the South African

constitutional court overturned it. Though exporting is still outlawed, people can now trade rhino

horn in the country if they have the right permit (Might). The termination of the ban on

domestic trade in South Africa will escalate the amount of poaching in the country and abet

crime syndicates in the illicit export of the horn internationally.

The high demand of rhino horn comes from East Asian countries who use the horn in

traditional medicine and as ornamental trophies. The rise in poaching in the last years, according

to experts, is due to the high demand of exotic animal parts, especially within the booming

Asian market and is used for folk remedies, popular hangover cures, and alternative medicines

(Poaching). The horn is a part of traditional eastern culture, which makes it difficult to change

peoples minds about the use of it. Rhino horn is made of Alpha-keratin, a protein found in hair,

fingernails, and animal hooves (Service). Essentially, its like giant fingernail sitting on top of

the rhinoceross head, and using it in medicine is the equivalent of using a head of human hair.
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Dr. Raj Amin of the Zoological Society of London reports that there is no evidence at all that

any constituent of rhino horn has any medical property. Medically, its the same as if you were

chewing your own nails. Not only are the rhinos being brutally slaughtered, but nothing

substantial comes from using their horns. Rhino horn is also used as an ornamental trophy in

East Asia and to middle class families, is considered a prized possession and symbol of social

status (Wildlife). Since owning rhino horn is a societal and cultural norm in places like

Vietnam and China, convincing them to stop purchasing it would be very difficult. With this

high demand, there needs to be a constant supply, which will only be made easier through the

lifting of the domestic ban.

Some believe that the legalization of the trade of rhino horn in South Africa is going to

benefit the rhinos and help stop the illegal trafficking. Many private rhino owners safely remove

the horn from their rhinos heads in order to prevent poachers from killing them. These private

rhino owners would argue that they can force illegal players out of the business by selling their

horn at lower prices than the illegal market, says Pelham Jones, a chairman of the Private Rhino

Owner Association. This would force the illegal traders to undercut their product to compete

with the domestic trade, causing their profits to decrease significantly. Doing this seems like a

smart idea, but would end up normalizing the use of rhino horn and boosting demand for the

product, spurring the need for more poaching. Private rhino owners also believe that the ban may

be making the problem worse, because restricting the supply makes the prices for the horn

skyrocket, and encourages poaching (Might). There are still going to be people who break the

law, no matter what the law is, so thats not a good enough reason to get rid of the ban

altogether. Statistics like 243 rhinos were found poached in Kruger National Park from January

to July in 2017, which is a 34% decrease from the year before, could persuade the audience to

think poaching is going down (Head). The reality is, according to Bonne de Bod, a filmmaker on
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the poaching industry, that we have had a huge increase in rhino poaching nationally, up by

over 50%. Though it may be decreasing in some areas, poaching is still an ever present issue

that is only going to increase due to elevated demand, caused by the legalization of domestic

trade.

The legalization of the trade of rhino horn in South Africa will increase poaching and aid

the current crime rings smuggling it out of the country. Most conservationists are concerned that

the ruling will only serve to aid the lucrative illegal trade of rhino horn (Dean). Private rhino

owners want to sell their horn throughout the country, but there is almost no domestic market in

South Africa, so all of it will end up being smuggled out of the country anyway (Bale). The only

reason why domestic trade would be a reasonable solution to stop the international trade, would

be if the domestic trade was robust enough to combat it. This is assuming that there is any

substantial internal trade in the country at all. People of Asian descent only make up

approximately 2% of South Africas population (Africa), so the people who want to buy the horn

will not be South Africans, but international buyers. To make matters worse, foreigners will be

allowed to export a maximum of two horns for personal purposes, despite the fact that this

seems to contradict the international treaty (Bale). This is an obvious problem because horn

traders, not real tourists, can export the horn using the disguise of being a visitor and using it for

personal purposes. Lifting the ban is a horrible idea because its going to increase poaching

and help those who want to trade the rhino horn internationally.

Rather than allowing domestic trade, more effective initiatives could be implemented to

decrease poaching and stop illegal trade. Having higher security in sanctuaries and reservations

can help stop poaching before it happens. Right now some reservations, like SanParks in South

Africa, are having challenges with game rangers who are working with the poachers (Breakfast).

This is counterproductive, for the ones who are supposed to be protecting the rhinos, may also be
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the ones aiding their demise. They dont even recognize some of the local police stations as

someone who can help them, because many of them are working with the poachers (Christy).

Glenn Phillips, the executive manager of SanParks, has reported that poachers have also been

driving into the parks dressed as tourists, striking, and leaving dead rhinos in their wake. The

parks have trouble being able to prevent poaching, because they lack the resources to stop it

before it happens. While authorities are already not enforcing the ban on illegal trade, allowing

legal trade will muddy already murky waters (Might). If there were a concrete plan on how

to regulate the trade of rhino horn that would ensure no smuggling out of the country would

occur, the lifting of the ban might not be as detrimental. In principle, we would not have

objection to trade, said Cathy Dean, chief executive of Save the Rhino, our concern is that the

right conditions are not in place to make sure that it is done properly. Dr. Jo Shaw, the rhino

program manager at the WWF South Africa states that time and money should be spent

regulating current rhino horn stockpiles and securing better systems at ports of exit and entry to

detect illegal wildlife products. If there was a plan on how to control the trade and ensure horn

wouldnt be exported illegally, then that would be a step in a better direction, but no evidence of

this plan has been presented.

History has shown that removing trade bans without adequate control on crime and

corruption can be catastrophic. In 2007, The Convention on International Trade in Endangered

Species (CITES), suspended an international ban on trading elephant ivory in four countries in

Africa. Shortly after, poaching reached an unprecedented high. The idea behind this was much

like the idea behind what is going on with rhino horn now; they wanted to flood the Asian

markets with ivory to drive out illegal traders, but ended up making the situation worse (Christy).

It is obvious that this method doesnt work unless there is a complex plan on how to manage the
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trade, which hasnt been proposed yet. This is the reason why conservation groups are so

opposed to the ban being lifted.

Conservation organizations are racing against the clock to stop poaching before the

species is eradicated. CITES, in response to the rhino horn and ivory crisis, stated that they are

trying to better enforce the treaties and regulations by adopting measures to detect and counter

instances of corruption. This is important because they are a influential organization that have a

great deal of pull and can hopefully get helpful regulations passed. There are also vigorous

initiatives in Vietnam to educate people that rhino horn is the same substance that our hair and

nails are made of, and has no medical use (Might). This is important because if the demand

goes down then there wont be any need for poaching to increase the supply. Leigh Henry of the

World Wildlife Fund explains that South Africa should be prioritizing stopping poaching and

crime syndicates, rather than trying to increase domestic trade. More effective work would be

done if more time and resources went into trying to stop current poaching and illegal trade,

instead of lifting the domestic ban on trade in South Africa.

South Africa has the largest population of rhinos in the world, which is why the news of

the ban being lifted is particularly devastating. Thirteen rhinos were killed in 2007 and over a

thousand were killed last year (Christy). This is devastating for the rhinoceroses and

conservationist efforts. Lifting the domestic trade ban is going to worsen the problems with

poaching and illegal export. Past experience and logic proves that eradicating the ban will not

force illegal traders out, as private rhino owners would hope, but boost the demand for the

product and cause poaching to skyrocket. The best way to combat the crisis facing these innocent

creatures is through more security at the trade ports, and more time and resources spent into

figuring out how to catch the heartless poachers before they strike. The legalization of the
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domestic trade of the horn that poachers prey upon, will only make the current problem spiral

into a violent pandemonium.

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Works Cited

Africa, Statistics South. Mid-Year Population Estimates. Statistics South Africa,

www.statssa.gov.za/.

Bale, Rachael. Breaking: Rhino Horn Trade to Return in South Africa. National

Geographic, National Geographic Society, 7 Apr. 2017,

news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/04/wildlife-watch-rhino-horn-ban-overturned-south-

africa/.

Braun, David Maxwell. Rhino Horn: All Myth, No Medicine. National Geographic Society

(Blogs), 8 Mar. 2011,

voices.nationalgeographic.org/2010/07/07/rhino_horn_and_traditional_chinese_medicine

_facts/.

Breakfast, Siviwe. SanParks Exec Believes Rhino Poachers Are Getting Assistance from Park

Rangers. The South African, 28 Nov. 2017, www.thesouthafrican.com/sanparks-execs-

believes-poachers-get-assistance-from-rangers/.

Christy, Bryan. Special Investigation: Inside the Deadly Rhino Horn Trade. Inside

the Dark World of the Rhino Horn Trade, 28 June 2017,

www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/10/dark-world-of-the-rhino-horn-trade/.

CITES Welcomes G20 Leaders' Declaration on Combating Corruption Related to Illegal Trade

in Wildlife. CITES Welcomes G20 Leaders' Declaration on Combating Corruption

Related to Illegal Trade in Wildlife | CITES,

cites.org/eng/CITES_welcomes_G20_leaders_Declaration_on_combating_corruption_rel

ated_to_illegal_trade_in_wildlife_100717.

Dean, Sam. It Is Now Legal to Trade Rhino Horn in South Africa but Will the Ruling Save or

Slay the Troubled Spec. The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 30 Apr. 2017,
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www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/04/30/now-legal-trade-rhino-horn-south-africa-will-

ruling-save-slay/amp/.

Head, Tom. The DEA's Official Rhino Poaching Stats for 2017 Are a Tough, but Necessary

Read. The South African, 25 July 2017, www.thesouthafrican.com/the-deas-official-

rhino-poaching-stats-for-2017-are-a-tough-but-necessary-read/.

Might Legalising the Rhino-Horn Trade Actually Help the Rhino? The

Economist, The Economist Newspaper, 4 May 2017, www.economist.com/news/finance-

and-economics/21721671-just-likely-it-would-spur-demand-further-endangering-

creature-might.

"Poaching." Global Issues in Context Online Collection, Gale, 2016. Global Issues in

Context,

link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CP3208520421/GPS?u=rale84535&sid=GPS&xid=c3f6e6a

c. Accessed 29 Nov. 2017.

Richardson, Nigel. Can Farming Rhinos for Their Horns Save the Species? The

Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 11 Nov. 2017,

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/11/can-farming-rhinos-horns-save-species/.

Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Facts about Rhino Horn. Official Web Page of the U S Fish

and Wildlife Service, www.fws.gov/.

"Wildlife Trade (Illegal)." The Gale Encyclopedia of Science, edited by K. Lee Lerner and

Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, 4th ed., vol. 6, Gale, 2008, pp. 4702-4703. Gale Virtual

Reference Library,

link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX2830102503/GVRL?u=rale84535&sid=GVRL&xid=b2

97a3d3. Accessed 29 Nov. 2017.

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WWF Applauds South African Government Decision to Appeal High Court Ruling to Lift Ban

on Natio. WWF, WWF South Africa,

www.wwf.org.za/what_we_do/rhino_programme/?15721%2FWWF-applauds-

government-decision-to-appeal-court-ruling-on-rhino-horn-trade.