Abstract
Wild vertebrate populations all over the globe are in decline, with poaching being the second-most-important cause. The high poaching rate of rhinoceros may drive these species into extinction within the coming decades. Some stakeholders argue to lift the ban on international rhino horn trade to potentially benefit rhino conservation, as current interventions appear to be insufficient. We reviewed scientific and grey literature to scrutinize the validity of reasoning behind the potential benefit of legal horn trade for wild rhino populations. We identified four mechanisms through which legal trade would impact wild rhino populations, of which only the increased revenue for rhino farmers could potentially benefit rhino conservation. Conversely, the global demand for rhino horn is likely to increase to a level that cannot be met solely by legal supply. Moreover, corruption is omnipresent in countries along the trade routes, which has the potential to negatively affect rhino conservation. Finally, programmes aimed at reducing rhino horn demand will be counteracted through trade legalization by removing the stigma on consuming rhino horn. Combining these insights and comparing them with criteria for sustainable wildlife farming, we conclude that legalizing rhino horn trade will likely negatively impact the remaining wild rhino populations. To preserve rhino species, we suggest to prioritize reducing corruption within rhino horn trade, increasing the rhino population within well-protected ’safe havens’ and implementing educational programmes and law enforcement targeted at rhino horn consumers.
Highlights
Large-scale poaching operations are taking place all over the world, heavily impacting the remaining number of rhinoceros, elephants, vultures, pangolins and numerous other animal species (Conrad, 2012; Fischer, 2004; Rademeyer, 2016). Their horns, tusks, claws, scales, bones and other body parts are smuggled in large quantities mainly to Southeast and East Asia, where they are processed into products that function as status symbols and traditional medicines (Milliken and Shaw, 2012)
In our study we focus primarily on the two African rhino species and often in the setting of South Africa, even though we acknowledge the importance of other countries with rhino populations and the situation of the more rare Asian rhino species
Wildlife farming should not rely on wild populations for restocking. This would likely hold true for rhino farming if captive populations are well protected, because already more than 30% of all South African rhinos are privately owned and due to the aridification of farming grounds more area is expected to become available for rhino farming in the near future (Rademeyer, 2016; Rubino and Pienaar, 2017)
Summary
The majority of wild vertebrate populations are in severe decline and one-third of all mammal and bird species are currently under threat by unsustainable subsistence hunting, poaching and wildlife trade (IPBES, 2019; Rivalan et al, 2007; Scheffers et al, 2019). Scientists have been studying the potential effects of a rhino horn trade ban lift for approximately two decades (e.g., Ayling, 2013; Biggs et al, 2013; Cheung et al, 2018b; Collins et al, 2016; Conrad, 2012; Fischer, 2004; Rivalan et al, 2007; Taylor et al, 2017) Overall, this debate has become polarized, which has led to an apparent deadlock in the discussion (Committee of Inquiry, 2016; Taylor et al, 2017). Since illegal wildlife trade is an interlinked and global system, we posit that our review provides a valid overview for the situation of all rhino species by primarily considering the world’s largest rhino population as a case study
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