A presentation given by wildlife veterinarian and conservation scientist Mark Jones, to the Rhino Mayday meeting in London on 4th May 2011

1. CITES and the Rhino Horn Trade
© SAPS
Mark Jones
Programmes Director, Care for the Wild International
Co-chair, Species Survival Network Rhino Working Group

2. Since 1984
Charity dedicated to the conservation and
welfare of wildlife around the world
Protect, Defend, Rescue
Anti-poaching/enforcement activities
Kenya/India
© DSWT
Elephant and Rhino rescue DSWT Kenya
Since 1992
International coalition of >80 NGOs
Promotion, enhancement, and strict enforcement of CITES
To prevent over-exploitation of animals and plants due to
international trade.

3. CITES and the Rhino Horn Trade
• Severe poaching threat
• Split CITES listings
mixed messages
laundering
risk vulnerable
populations
• Legal sales unhelpful © DSWT

4. CITES and the Rhino Horn Trade
• Rhino species – status and trends
• Poaching and illegal trade
• CITES listings and legal trade
– Impact
– Stockpile sales?
– CITES regulations
• Dehorning
• Summary © DSWT

5. Rhino species - status
Species
Southern White rhino Near threatened 93% South Africa
(Ceratotherium simum spp. >20,000 (Mar 11) Namibia/Zimbabwe/Kenya
Cottoni) (increasing)
Black rhino (Diceros bicornis) Critically endangered 36% South Africa
~4,800 (Mar 11) 35% Namibia
(increasing) Kenya/Zimbabwe/Tanzania
Greater (Indian) one-horned Vulnerable 85% India
rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) ~2,800 (Sep 09) 15% Nepal
(increasing)
Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus Critically endangered 66% Indonesia
sumatrensis) <300 (Sep 09) 33% Malaysia
(decreasing)
Javan rhino (Rhinoceros Critically endangered 90% Indonesia
sondaicus) <50 (Sep 09) 10% Vietnam?
(unknown)

6. Rhino species - trends
↑ 15% since 2007*
© Henri Faure Dreamstime.com
↑ 14% since 2007*
© Nico Smit Dreamstime.com
↑ 23% since 2008 (Nepal)**
*Source IUCN
© Jeremy Richards Dreamstime.com
**Source Nepal DNP

7. Rhino species - trends
• But many populations in decline
– Zimbabwe (>15% reduction since end 2007)
– Kenya?
– Swaziland?
– Indian populations?
– Sumatran/Javan populations
• Poaching for horn = major cause
• Continued poaching will
threaten more populations

8. Poaching and illegal trade
• Keratin (fingernails)
• Traditional Asian medicine
– Headaches, fevers,
rheumatism, gout
• Cancer (Vietnamese
politician?)
• US$60,000/kg*
> Gold
> street UK street cocaine
*Source SA Broadcasting Corporation Jan 11

9. Trade routes

10. Poaching - Africa
>800 rhinos poached in Africa in the past 3
years*, 95% South Africa/Zimbabwe
-250 million rand ($38 million) in 2010*
-2011 - 138 rhinos poached. 82 suspects arrested, 14 killed** *Source: International Rhino Foundation
**Source: www.thenewage.co.za 26/4/11

11. Poaching - Africa
• Jan ‘06-Sep ’09 ~1500 horns entered Asian
trade from Africa. Only about 1 in 10 recovered
Source: Milliken et al 2009

12. Poaching - Africa
• Well resourced criminal gangs
– UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice resolution – Vienna April 2011
– Helicopters/heavy calibre arms/veterinary drugs
• Legislation, enforcement and penalties variable

13. Poaching - Asia
ASIA
• India
– 37 from Kaziranga NP 2007-
2009
– India-Myanmar border
• Nepal
– 1999-2007 – 150+ poached
– 28 rhinos killed in year to June
2010
Source: Milliken et al 2009

14. Asian rhinos Appendix 1 listed 1975
African rhinos joined them 1977
White rhinos in South Africa moved to Appendix 2 in
1994, Swaziland 2004
“For the exclusive purpose of allowing international
trade in live animals to appropriate and acceptable
destinations and hunting trophies.”

15. Live rhino exports
2006-2009
193 235 © Henri Faure Dreamstime.com
© Henri Faure Dreamstime.com 141 since 2000
Horn harvesting?
Appropriate and acceptable destinations?
Moratorium since 2009
Source: Milliken et al 2009

16. Trophy exports
2006-2008
>1000 horns (>500 animals)
286 since 2006
No system of tracking in Vietnam
Sale through traditional medicine outlets
Lack of or abuse of documents
Source: Milliken et al 2009
Involvement of traffickers/officials

17. CITES listings and legal trade
Split listing
Mixed messaging
Promotion of trade
Laundering of illegal
rhino horn
Small rhino populations © DSWT
in poorer range states
suffer disproportionately

18. Resumption of legal trade
• Recent calls for limited resumption of legal
trade
– Zimbabwe?
• Other SADC countries
– Stockpile sales
– Downlisting of white and black rhino populations

19. Stockpiles
• Total reported to CITES in 2009:
Worldwide 28.7 tonnes
Africa 23.5 tonnes
Other* 5.2 tonnes
*No data from Asian range states or many consumer states
• Mostly from natural/management related mortalities
• <10% from seizures
• 92% held by States
• 4.75 tonnes in private hands in South Africa?
– Much undeclared

20. Resumption of legal trade
• Unlikely to flood market
• Opportunity to launder illegal horn
– difficult to distinguish legal from illegal product
– Stockpile management? Private stocks?
• Ethics?
– Legitimisation of product/trade, undermining demand
reduction efforts
– Baseless exploitation of cancer sufferers
• Ivory precedent
• Stimulation of poaching?

21. Rhino conservation and trade
• Res.Conf. 3.11 (New Delhi 1981)
• Res.Conf. 6.10 (Ottawa 1987)
• Decision 10.45 (Harare 1997)
• Decision 14.88 (The Hague 2007)
• Res.Conf. 9.14 (Rev.CoP15) (Fort Lauderdale
1994)

22. Res.Conf.9.14
(Fort Lauderdale 1994)
• Revised at CoP15 Doha 2010 (Kenya)
– Recognition of increased poaching as a global
issue
– Emphasis on law enforcement alone has failed to
remove the threat to rhinos
– Diversity of opinion on how best to conserve
rhinos
• International cooperation
• Demand reduction and role of “implicated
states”

23. Improved legislation/cooperation
• International Consortium on Combatting Wildlife Crime –
March 2011
– Interpol Environmental Crime Programme
– World Customs Organisation
– CITES Rhino Enforcement Task Force
• Transboundary collaboration
• SA national Moratorium on rhino horn sales (Feb 2009)
• SA National Wildlife Crime Reaction Unit (Feb 2010)
• Stricter Domestic Measures to restrict trade in rhino horn
products (UK Sept 2010)

24. Other measures
• Suspension of trophy hunting?
• Review of “appropriate and acceptable
destinations” for live rhino sales?
• Stockpile management/destruction?
• Uplisting of white rhino populations to
Appendix 1?

25. Dehorning/horn harvesting
As a deterrent to poaching?
To supply “non-lethal” horn into trade?
© Gallo images via Getty images

26. Dehorning/horn harvesting
• 1989 Namibia: few dehorned
animals subsequently poached
• 1991-1993 Zimbabwe: 78/136
dehorned white and 19/224
dehorned black rhinos
subsequently killed by
poachers
© Gallo images via Getty images

27. Dehorning/horn harvesting
• Deterrent?
– Not at today’s prices
– Recent targeting of black
rhino, in Save Conservancy,
Zimbabwe, that had been
dehorned last year
• Danger to rhinos
– Need to dehorn frequently © Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force
– Horns have uses!

28. Summary
• Overall increase in rhino numbers since CoP14
• Populations threatened by massive increase in
poaching
• CITES split listing unhelpful

29. Summary
• Neither the dehorning of rhinos, nor the resumption
of legal trade, are likely to solve the poaching
problem
• Solutions to rhino conservation lie in:
• Increased protection in all implicated states through
international and national legislation, improved
enforcement, stiffer penalties
• Demand reduction

30. Thank you!
Susie Watts (co-chair), Humane Society International
Mark Jones (co-chair), Care for the Wild International
Ian Redmond, Independent
Teresa Telecky, Humane Society
Shelley Waterland, Born Free Foundation
Gabriel Fava, Born Free Foundation
Debbie Banks, EIA International
Mary Rice, EIA International
Alasdair Cameron, EIA International
Adam Roberts , Born Free USA
DJ Schubert, Animal Welfare Institute
Alice Stroud, Species Survival Network
Melanie Shepherd, The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
Asgar Pathan, Care for the Wild Kenya
Sue Downie, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
Lucky Mavrandonis, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
Belinda Wright, Wildlife Protection Society of India
© DSWT
Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, Aaranyak
Will Travers, Born Free Foundation
Ann Michels, SSN