We Think They Should Legalize the Trade of Rhino Horn

The debate over whether or not to legalize the trade in rhino horn tends to polarize opinion.

Let’s start with the two central tenets that people in all camps can agree on. Firstly, we all want to see more rhinos in more viable populations in the wild. Secondly, we all accept that there is no silver bullet that will solve the rhino poaching crisis: legal trade on its own will not work; anti-poaching patrols on their own will not work.

So the question should really be: what combination of approaches should we adopt to ensure that rhino numbers and rhino population numbers continue to grow?

Legalizing the trade may be one of these approaches and is currently being heavily discussed by South Africa. There are several different options for a legalized trade in rhino horn. By: Save The Rhino

1. One off sale of rhino horn stockpiles
2. Domestic trade in rhino horn
3. (Semi) permanent international CITES regulated sale

Further reading and recent news stories

• The South African Department of Environmental Affairs 2014 – The viability of legalizing trade in rhino horn in South Africa
• The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) argues against the legalization of the trade in rhino horn, pointing to the problems with ivory Annamiticus article on debunking the pro-trade myths
• BBC news February 2013 – Time to legalize the trade say researchers
• NBC Science news February 2013 – Legal horn trade could save species from cliff of extinction, experts argue