The South Africa – Viet Nam Rhino Horn Trade Nexus (PDF ... - WWF

situation at the source: south africa
poaching activities, such as instances of trespassing onto rhino properties or illegal possession of firearms
in areas adjacent to rhino populations, but more resources and institutional support are required
to support these efforts.
South Africa is the only rhino range State to currently have invested in costly commercially-available
software for holding wildlife crime information and data. The purchase of Memex, a highly-regarded
but very expensive information management tool, by SANParks, SAPS and others in the country
holds the potential to galvanize higher-level analysis of rhino crime, but seems to be under-utilized
to date. A range of “teething” issues no doubt currently impairs data collection, dissemination, management
and analysis, and institutional buy-in and pro-active access to Memex by the range of rhino
crime investigators in South Africa remains unresolved. Nonetheless, the prospect of competent
investigators having a centralized body of data with which to share information, undertake threat
analysis and forecasting, and effectively manage intelligence information is an exciting innovation
to support wildlife conservation. Spatial and temporal analysis of poaching data, in conjunction with
the detail of modus operandi of specific gangs of poachers, could lead to the identification of rhino
poaching “hotspots” for the pro-active deployment of manpower and the development of intelligence
networks. Additionally, especially at South Africa’s ports of entry and exit, there is an urgent
need to implement pro-active law-enforcement activities utilizing suspect profiling to support the
interdiction of illegal movements of rhino horn. Related to this, the need for better communication
and collaboration with other implicated countries, both rhino range States and consumer countries,
to identify suspicious individuals is required. More broadly, whenever possible, the fight for rhinos
needs to be pro-active, not reactive, and directed at those planning rhino crimes before they kill
the rhinos.
• The need to tighten law-enforcement activities at all ports of entry and exit from South Africa to better detect
the illegal movement of rhino horn: It is clear that large numbers of rhino horns continue to leave
South Africa’s borders undetected. The deaths of 448 rhinos last year produced nearly 900 horns, of
which only a fraction were seized. There is an urgent need to increase capacity and provide training
to border staff from the different departments responsible for detecting rhino horns to increase the
risks to those involved in moving illegal horns out of the country. Empowering those responsible for
this critical role, with targeted training and better provision of more sophisticated equipment, is a key
requirement. Recent developments in the provision and training of dedicated wildlife product sniffer
dogs is to be commended, but this level of response needs to be employed consistently and on a much
greater scale. Increasing the risk of arrest will act as a strong disincentive to those currently involved in
the illegal trafficking of horn. In conjunction with this, the profiling of suspects travelling along trade
routes and using airline carriers that have frequently been known to move rhino horn illegally would
also serve to increase the rate of detection of illegal traffickers.
• The importance of effective monitoring and regulation of sport hunting of rhinos: The recent comprehensive
amendments to South Africa’s Norms and Standards for trophy hunting of White Rhinos have addressed
many of the identified loopholes exploited in the past by those engaged in “pseudo-hunting”. However,
the trophy hunting industry requires ongoing monitoring to ensure that its actions continue to provide
genuine support and benefit to rhino conservation. Concerns have been raised about recent increases in
the hunting of female rhinos and younger animals by people from non-traditional hunting countries. It
is important that the demographics of White Rhinos taken as trophies are monitored to ensure this trend
does not negatively impact on population growth. The possible adoption of a national quota and some
simple criteria that would need to be satisfied before issuing hunting permits could be considered. It is
acknowledged that the trophy hunting of White Rhinos has contributed to their conservation through
population growth and range expansion in the past and that a blanket moratorium on trophy hunting
would create further disincentives for rhino ownership at this time. However, comments from the Minister
regarding local moratoriums in provinces found to exhibit ongoing permit abuse should be noted
and the implementation of provincial-level moratoriums may be appropriate if serious infringements of
permit regulations continue.
• The requirement for better regulation of professionals within the wildlife industry: The involvement of wildlife
professionals, including professional hunters, hunting outfitters, wildlife veterinarians and game
capture operators, in “pseudo-hunting” and the illegal killing of rhinos and subsequent horn trade is
probably the most shocking aspect of the current rhino crisis in South Africa. The prevailing structure
of self-regulation and minimal restrictions upon those employed in this field is apparently insufficient
to prevent unethical practices. The fact that so many professional hunters are not members of PHASA
is a compounding factor in the absence of a strong self-regulatory mechanism. Overall, it is believed
that tighter regulation and restrictions on who can actually participate in rhino hunts in South Africa
would reduce the potential for abuse of the system. Additionally, those charged with biodiversity
crimes should automatically have their hunting licences suspended. It is evident that some wildlife
veterinarians have been involved in illegal activities, including the poaching of rhinos. The SAVC is
urged to act more strongly to regulate activities within the wildlife industry and to automatically withdraw
the registration to practise from veterinarians convicted of wildlife crimes. Finally, it is clear that
there is a critical need for tighter controls on access to scheduled veterinary medicines as slack restrictions
on distribution of these substances has led to their use in criminal activities.
• The ongoing designation of rhino crime cases to specific prosecutors in each province: It is unfortunate that
specialized environmental crime courts cannot be established in South Africa, but it is recognized that
insufficient resources and other constraints ultimately prevent this from occurring. Still, rhino crime
is a form of severe crime and should be linked to investigations of other organized criminal activities.
Dedicated rhino crime prosecutors need to be found in each province and these should be managed by
a provincial rhino crime co-ordinator to ensure “best practice” in terms of prosecutorial content and
strategies. Provincial rhino crime co-ordinators should also sit on some kind of national forum that links
all provinces and allows information sharing and problem solving at a national level in a co-ordinated
fashion. Certain key individuals within the judiciary system are to be applauded for their actions as true
champions of the rhino cause. However, there is a general need for more training of prosecutors and
magistrates regarding this specialized environmental crime, to raise awareness of the issues around rhino
conservation and the impact that rhino poaching has on the national economy. Information should
continue to be made available and presented in court in support of aggravation of sentencing and on the
significant role in the trade chain played by foreign nationals involved in couriering and exporting rhino
horn to ensure they receive appropriate sentences. Finally, several recent cases have been hampered by
the need for translators, particularly those proficient in the Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai languages, to
participate in trials. A solution needs to be found to overcome this challenge.
Concerning the option of legal commercial international trade in
rhino horn
• The need for an objective and strategic approach to assess the long-term outcomes of any future interventions
in relation to global rhino conservation objectives and trade: At present, opinion is widely divided
within South Africa over the efficacy, ethics and practicality of the legalization of commercial trade in
rhino horn, even amongst those who are ostensibly on the same side. For example, some argue for a
highly-managed, low-value legal trade as a means to deliberately undermine the illegal price of rhino
horn, whilst other proponents of a trade option expect unfettered market forces to maximize revenues
to rhino owners and managers. Unfortunately, clear measures of rhino horn demand, consumption and
even price are absent, and the role that speculation plays in end-use markets remains unknown. Thus,
any attempt to model potential supply and demand scenarios is purely theoretical or experimental in
nature.
There is still much uncertainty as to how illegal markets would be affected by legal trade in terms
of supply–demand dynamics. More research into the Asian end-use markets is required to increase
understanding of these issues and advise the best solution going forward. To date, the South African
government has not made any comment on its position on legalizing trade and no workable, practical
mechanisms for the legal trade in rhino horn have been proposed by the government. Thus,
much of the attention and speculation around this topic seem premature, although some who own
and manage rhinos have argued there is an urgent need for alternative strategies to be tried. The
challenges associated with regulating a legal trade in horn in Viet Nam, believed to be the main consumer
country at this time, are addressed in the next section.
110 the south africa – viet nam rhino horn trade nexus TRAFFIC 111