"Shaving the Rhino"

The surge in demand for rhino horn is driven by a combination of poverty, the existence of a lucrative black market niche in South East Asia and the availability of sophisticated channels to ship the ‘cargo’ out of South Africa. A lot of work is underway to stabilise the situation but how and where does one begin to curb the trade in traditional medicine that has a history of 23 centuries and is worth billions of rand a year? Traditional medicine might be an ancient practice but organized crime employs cutting edge technology to track and poach rhino. Policing is an integral part of this war but many other elements are needed if we are to succeed and private rhino owners are finding their own solutions. In this week's episode of 5050 (17 May) a game farmer proposes that the most effective way of reducing poaching is to open up legal trade from naturally harvested horns and thereby force the price of rhino horn on the black market down. This in turn should cause organised crime to shift from poaching to more lucrative opportunities. His idea is somewhat controversial but desperate times call for creative counter-measures!

In the meantime, stakeholders have been hard at work formulating a new website as a central data collection point for rhino poaching-related information and support - intelligence and tip-offs can be reported here, financial support pledged and information gathered by any related or interested party. http://www.stoprhinopoaching.com/ is a must visit if you care about the plight of our planet's rhino!