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

SiTuATion AT THE SouRCE: SouTH AfRiCA
Cost (uSD)
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Auction
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Figure 10 Comparison of average live White Rhino auction prices with White Rhino hunting prices in South Africa
by year, 1982-2010 (see Appendix 1 for data)
About once every decade, for example in 1988, 1999-2000, and 2007, exchange rate fluctuations resulted
in rhino hunts becoming only marginally more costly than the USD auction prices of rhinos in the
same year (Figure 10). This probably results from the fact that many rhino hunts are marketed for
months, even a year, before they actually take place and, conversely, many live rhinos purchased
through auctions one year are only sport hunted in subsequent years. In any case, the data demonstrate
fairly rapid market adjustments when these prices come into relative alignment, with the value
of rhino trophy hunts taking major price jumps in 1989, 2001 and 2008 so that strong profit margins
are ensured over live auction prices.
The apparent downturn in live auction prices for a number of years around 1990, and again in 2005 and
2006, most probably reflects a drop in investor confidence (Figure 10). The earlier time period coincides
with South Africa’s dramatic political transition from the former apartheid regime to a democratic government
under black majority-rule which came to power in 1994 following the overwhelming election of
Nelson Mandela. During this time of political uncertainty, private sector landowners were generally disinclined
to invest in costly rhino purchases. Further, in advance of the election, more rhinos were offered
for sport hunts than in previous years and the price dropped (R. Emslie, pers. comm., 2012). Once political
stability was ensured, however, the market quickly rebounded. On the other hand, the latter period
coincides with a tightening of sport hunting regulations for rhinos and runaway rhino poaching, which
has also conferred major losses on any number of private sector owners. The price of a rhino hunt
became noticeably higher from 2008 onwards than it has been at any time previously. The likely reasons
for this are discussed in more detail below.
Figure 11 shows the relative profit made after deducting the average price of a live rhino sold on auction
from the average cost of a rhino trophy hunt in the same year in USD terms. It can be seen that
the absolute profit has been highest in 2008 and 2010 given the exceptionally high prices rhino hunts
have commanded in recent years. The lowest profit years were 1988 and 2007, which were partially
influenced by exchange rate fluctuations between the ZAR and USD.
While Appendix 1 shows the collated available data on White Rhino trophy hunts and auctions, there are
many gaps in the data, especially where trophy hunting is concerned. Exactly how many White Rhinos
were hunted in the past remains unknown as neither South Africa’s provincial author ities nor PHASA
have always kept reliable records (Adcock and Emslie, 1994). Formerly, there were no reporting requirements
for the private sector to disclose the number of rhino hunts which occurred on their properties.
Indeed, the lack of disclosure by private sector operators is a characteristic feature of the industry as a
whole. For example, only two hunting operators who were approached during the 2008 survey of White
Rhinos on private land were willing to share hunting information (Hall-Martin et al., 2009). However,
using a variety of data sources, including WCMC data, CITES export data, and information supplied by
some key operators in the hunting industry, Adcock and Emslie estimated that between 820 and 840
White Rhinos were hunted over the 27-year period from 1968 to 1994. Appendix 1 shows that at least
763 more rhinos were hunted between 1994 and 2010, although actual numbers are only available for an
additional nine years. In fact, this study estimates that between 1000 and 1300 rhinos were hunted from
the 16-year period from 1995 to 2011.
Analysis of the CITES data provides further insight into this issue. South Africa’s CITES export data for
rhino horns or trophies (and not other rhino body parts) indicates that, from 1980 through 2010, a total
of 893 rhino “horns” and 1638 rhino “trophies” were legally exported. It can be assumed that almost all
of these transactions represent sport hunted trophies, but it is not always apparent whether the description
“trophies” represents a single rhino horn or both the front and the rear horn of the animal in question.
Based on the assumption that trophies always represented two horns, Figure 12 shows that a total of
4169 rhino horns were exported during this 30-year period. In terms of the number of hunts, if each
rhino killed yielded two horns, an estimated 2085 hunts took place, or an average of 70 hunts each year.
Regardless of the gaps in the hunting data, in recent years an increasing number of White Rhinos have
been hunted, especially from 2004 onwards when the reported number shot up dramatically (Figure 12;
Appendix 1). At the same time, the ZAR price of a White Rhino hunt has also effectively doubled since
2007 (unadjusted for inflation) (Appendix 1), indicating that despite the increasing number of White
Rhinos on offer, demand has clearly outpaced supply in recent years (Figure 11).
These developments all directly coincide with the advent of Vietnamese hunters as a major force in
South Africa’s sport hunting industry. From 2005 onwards, the sport hunting of rhinos has boomed in
South Africa as never before, rapidly driving the number of hunts and their prices to unprecedented
heights in an effort to service the appetite of a new, non-traditional trophy market: Viet Nam. While
this development has given rise to a series of problematic issues (which are discussed below in detail), it
needs to be appreciated that there is no suggestion yet that the number of White Rhinos being hunted
actually represents a threat to the continued increase of the species population as a whole. Indeed, as
Figure 11 Cost of a White Rhino hunt in USD less the cost of White Rhino auction price by year (see Appendix I
for data)
48 the south africa – viet nam rhino horn trade nexus TRAFFIC 49
Profit (uSD)
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