Rhinoceros Butchering Must End Through Education
- by: Michelle Matthews
- recipient: Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director, United Nations Office at Nairobi, United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, PO Box 30552, 00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicine has, for thousands of years, accredited rhinoceros horn with the ability to cure a wide range of maladies from headaches and impotence to possession by a devil. In 1993 China signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which banned, amongst other things, the sale of rhinoceros horn and its derivatives. Unfortunately, however, this did little to slow down the trade in these products which continues to flourish in the black market, particularly in Vietnam.
In 1983, pharmaceutical giant, Hoffmann-LaRoche conducted tests of rhinoceros horn and in 2005 the Zoological Society of London undertook further testing. In addition, the Chinese University of Hong Kong examined the products in 1990. In all three studies the conclusions were essentially identical, that is that rhinoceros horn and any derivatives contain absolutely no medicinal properties. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) published the results of the Hoffman-LaRoche study which concluded that the testing "found no evidence that rhino horn has any medicinal effect as an antipyretic and would be ineffective in reducing fever, a common usage in much of Asia." Furthermore it found that "rhino horn, like fingernails, is made of agglutinated hair" and "has no analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmolytic nor diuretic properties" and "no bactericidal effect could be found against suppuration and intestinal bacteria."
It is evident, as we mourn the outrageous slaughter of the last adult rhinoceros in Krugersdorp ( See: Mutilated rhino corpses found in Kruger http://bit.ly/aNzwS4), that the only way to prevent the total decimation of the species is through educating people regarding the conclusions of the above mentioned studies, specifically, that there is no curative or therapeutic value in rhinoceros horn. The intent of this petition is to request that the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) take a more pro-active and aggressive role in not only educating people but in encouraging the governments of southeast and east Asia to do the same before it is too late.
Dear Mr. Steiner,
We, the undersigned, have read with sorrow and dismay of the senseless slaughter of the last adult rhinoceros in Krugersdorp Game Reserve, South Africa, this past July. The rhinoceros' horn was chopped off and the animal was left to bleed to death in a slow and barbaric manner. Presumably and according to recent studies, the intended market for this rhinoceros horn is in east and southeast Asia where many people still believe in the myth that the horn has curative and therapeutic medicinal properties.
A number of studies (Hoffmann-LaRoche, the World Wildlife Fund and the Internal Union for the Conservation of Nature, to name a few) have determined that rhinoceros horn has absolutely no medicinal value whatsoever because, like fingernails, it is made of agglutinated hair. Although many of these target countries have banned the production and sale of rhinoceros horn and its derivatives, the trade has not only continued unabated but has increased in volume.
It is evident, because of this simple fact, that legislation is not the most effective way to curb the sale of these products thereby preventing the utter decimation of the species. We are strongly asking that you undertake a commitment to engage in an educational programme for the people in east and southeast Asia who use rhinoceros horn products for medicinal purposes in order to make them aware of the scientific facts as discussed above. Further, we would strongly suggest that you use all the influence at your disposal to encourage the governments of these countries to undertake similar educational programmes.
The urgency required cannot be overstated. We have a fiduciary responsibility to end the brutality that many rhinoceroses endure at the hands of people and to ensure that the species survives in the wild where it belongs.
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