The killing of rhinos in Africa was seen as a remote issue, something that happened far away, out of their influence because they didn’t kill the rhinos themselves. The consumers we interviewed said they weren’t concerned about poaching or the plight of rhinos. We found that the use of rhino horn doesn’t attract a stigma in Vietnam. Gifting whole rhino horns was also used as a way to get favours from those in power. Consumers said that they shared it within social and professional networks to demonstrate their wealth and strengthen business relationships. Our findings confirm that the idea that rhino horn has magical healing properties is deeply rooted in Vietnam.Īside from being used as medicine, rhino horn is considered a status symbol. Some people also gave it to terminally ill relatives to console them and show that they had done everything in their power to help them. The people we interviewed said that they used rhino horn to treat various ailments including hangovers, fever, gout and potentially terminal illnesses, like cancer or stroke. They came from the upper income bracket of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. We interviewed 30, self-confessed, recent users of rhino horn and one rhino horn trader. Our hope is that our findings help reshape the focus of future conservation campaigns by targeting the prevalent reasons for its use and the values associated with it. Our findings suggest that the demand for rhino horn is unlikely to fall because people’s beliefs are firmly entrenched. And that they weren’t affected by stigma or concerns about rhino populations. We also found that consumers preferred wild rhino horn over farmed rhino horn. Other uses included using it to honour terminally ill relatives. The most prevalent use was for treating hangovers. We found that people used rhino horn for a number of purposes, principally as a medicine and as a status symbol. To do this we interviewed consumers who admitted to using rhino horn in Vietnam. We conducted a study to shed light on why people use rhino horn. And, through a variety of campaigns, conservation organisations have tried to educate Vietnamese consumers about Africa’s rhino poaching crisis and the uselessness of rhino horn in medications. In 2015, the Government of Vietnam increased sanctions on the illegal trade and use of rhino horns. And today there are only about 29,500 left in the world.Ĭonsiderable efforts have been devoted to reducing the demand for rhino horn in Vietnam. Last year in Africa 1,100 rhinos were killed by poachers. Vietnam is one of the world’s largest consumers of rhino horn, contributing to the continued poaching of rhinos in the wild.
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