Some believe an easy way to eliminate rhino poaching is to dehorn all rhinos, so the following facts offer some information about dehorning as a conservation tool.
Some believe an easy way to eliminate rhino poaching is to dehorn all rhinos, so the following facts offer some information about dehorning as a conservation tool.
Q What's the composition of rhino horn?
The conventional belief is that rhino horn is simply a clump of compressed or modified hair, but researchers have discovered they are comprised of calcium, melanin and keratin – similarly structured to horse hooves, turtle beaks, and cockatoo bills.
Q What's rhino horn used for in the eastern market place?
Rhino horn has several uses including:
* an alleged remedy against a number of non-life threatening ailments
* a 'cure' against aggressive cancer
* ornamental use
* an aphrodisiac (this is denied by the Chinese themselves)
Q Does rhino horn actually have any medicinal value?
In China, rhino horn has been used for traditional medicine since 2 000 BC but modern science hasn't been able to prove that it has real medicinal properties.
Q Can it be legally sold on the international market?
The international trade in rhino horn was banned in 1976 by signatories to the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In 1993 the Chinese government banned the use and sale of rhino horn, or any endangered species.
Q Can rhino horn be sold in SA?
In 2009 a national moratorium on the trade of individual rhino horns and its derivatives was published within South Africa. However, rhino horn may be traded as part of a trophy obtained during a legal trophy hunt.
Q What are the legal implications of dehorning?
In terms of the Threatened or Protected Species Regulations of 2007 (TOPS) drafted in terms of NEMBA no person may, without being in possession of a valid permit: hunt, capture, kill, convey, import, export, keep live rhino in captivity, or possess a rhino horn.
Q Is dehorning an effective counter-poaching measure?
Dehorning will only reduce the temptation to potential poachers if the re-growth is cut regularly to ensure that the horn mass remains very low. Zimbabwe reported that their dehorning effort was successful, but only if used in conjunction with other measures like regular patrols and population monitoring.
