Dehorning rhinos a lesser evil

"A very sad but necessary measure to protect these magnificent animals," explained Wildlife Vets Namibia. "Rhinos are impressive creatures, partly because of their horns, but at the same time, these horns are the reason they are heavily poached. Dehorning does not hurt the rhino; it can be compared to cutting fingernails."Wildlife Vets further explained: "Various technologies and protective measures have been proposed and implemented to prevent the poaching of these animals, but they have had only very limited application and effect. Poaching continues unabated."In 1977, CITES imposed a ban on the trade of rhino horn in the hope that this would protect the rhino. "The only thing this ban achieved was a skyrocketing value of rhino horn and a sharp increase in rhino poaching. We believe history will prove that this was one of the greatest failures of conservation and directly led to the extinction of an iconic species!"Currently, the most effective measure available to farmers against poaching is to regularly dehorn all rhinos. "As a result, tons of rhino horn accumulate, which farmers must store and protect at their own risk and expense, while poachers continue to kill rhinos at an alarming rate. Our legal system is flawed; arrested poachers are out on bail within days or weeks, and it takes years for cases to go to court. Convictions are rare, and penalties are laughable," Wildlife Vets continued.It would make sense to allow a controlled trade (as with diamonds, gold, etc.), where rhino owners could sell their legal stocks. "The good thing about rhino horn is that DNA can be extracted from it, making it possible to track and control each horn. The existing demand for rhino horn could easily be met by the massive legal stockpiles. This would likely drive down the black market price of rhino horn while providing rhino owners with income, enabling them to improve their conservation efforts (anti-poaching personnel, surveillance cameras, drones, etc., are all very expensive). And don't forget that rhino horn grows back at an average rate of 25-66 mm per year – unlike ivory, it is a renewable resource!"Such trade would incentivize more wildlife farmers and reserves to keep and invest in rhinos. Currently, rhinos are an extremely costly responsibility, leading many farmers to sell them, which in turn results in habitat loss for rhinos. "Not only does poaching threaten the existence of rhinos, but habitat loss does as well. Since the CITES ban on the rhino horn trade, a rhino is worth more dead than alive. That must change – urgently!"

Dehorning rhinos a lesser evil

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-01

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Dehorning rhinos a lesser evil

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-01

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