Leakage of rhino horn stockpiles fuels poaching

The leakage from government and private rhino horn stockpiles is fuelling wildlife crime, rhino killings and endangering people’s lives. That’s according to the EMS Foundation which argues that rhino horns from government and private stockpiles are entering the illegal international market. ‘The urgent question that the government must answer is why is it allowing the stockpiling of rhino horns? Particularly because, by doing so, it is de facto placing a dangerously contentious value to the horns in the vain hope that the international market will be reopened,’ its report stated. The Mail & Guardian notes that the report states that this is endangering the lives of the people who are protecting rhinos, encouraging the black market and ‘bankrupting’ public and private reserves while they attempt to keep their rhinos secure. The international trade in rhino horn has been banned since 1977 among the 184 member countries of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (Cites). The report said since 2016, at least 974kg of rhino horn seized in 11 incidents were confirmed as originating from the theft or illegal sale of horns from legal private and government stockpiles. These incidents represent 18% of all rhino horns seized during the period 2016 to 2021.