Gold is not the most expensive commodity in the world
despite its phenomenal increase in price over the past few years. Gold is going
currently at about $1600 per ounce while the Rhino horn fetches $29485 per
pound. Yes you heard it right, rhino horn is going for about $1843 per ounce
and the demand is strong.
It has been estimated that so far in 2013 two rhinos are
shot illegally each day. The reason is essentially the Chinese demand for the
horns that are used as medical ingredients. Some scientists believe that unless
some very strong measures are taken to protect the remaining rhinos then they
would become extinct in captivity in the next 20 years or so.
But why is that so if the rhino has been legally protected
since 1977? Simply because to pass a law is one thing and to implement it is a
completely different issue. In this case it is hoped that economics can come to
the rescue just as it did for the crocodiles. The suggestion is to legalize the
trade in rhino horns by setting up a legal market. Economists, at least some of
them, have been arguing for years that the illicit drug trade will not be
curbed until drugs became legalized. The rationale behind these arguments is
quite simple. Restrictions on rhino horn, just like restrictions on drugs, have
failed to address the demand side of the equation. Unfortunately given
sufficient demand will eventually attract enough supply by making risk taking
profitable; sell rhino horn at a price that is more expensive than gold.
9 comments:
It is so disgusting that people are hunting these animals for “medicinal purposes”. With all of the advancements made in medical technology, I find it very hard to believe that rhino horns are important to modern medicine. There is a new show coming this March on Animal Planet called, “Battleground: Rhino Wars”. This miniseries will reveal to the public the intense battle being fought to save the lives of both rhinos and humans in South Africa. In the process of protecting these endangered animals, many park rangers have been viciously killed by poachers. These poor animals are being slaughtered at alarming rates for absolutely pointless reasons. Mother rhinos are being and killed, forcing baby rhinos and calves to fend for themselves. The main problem in the fight against rhino poaching is that the good guys simply do not have the resources to stop the daily threats. Hopefully, this mini series will be a catalyst for world support; it will put a spotlight on this problem and alert the world of this horrific crisis. According to this article, economists seem to think that legalizing poaching will help solve this problem because regulations would be set. This is not ethical and it will not solve the problem. If these poachers are willing to break the law now and kill rhinos for profit, then nothing is going to stop them from over hunting them if regulations are set in place. The best offense against this threat is public knowledge; the more people know, the more people will demand action.
For a long time there has been debate over the legalization of marijuana and other drugs. Do I believe that drugs should be used by the population, no, but think of all of the money that is being wasted on the fight against drugs. Instead of the continued fight, I believe some drugs should be taxed. People will make their own choices and will continue to find the drug, may it be legal or illegal. If it’s legal why not tax it and make money. The same goes for the Rhino at least if there is some accountability for the amount that is allowed to be hunted and certain guidelines that should be met, the animal is protected in a sense. You can at least help bring the price of the good down, because it won’t be as scarce good to a certain extent. Scarcity of a good is what drives the price. If the market knows that a certain amount of Rhino will be able to be purchased and legally it will cause the price to fall and its value may soon fall below gold. Right now there are rules in place, but like every other environmental issue, a lack of enforcement seems to be the problem.
Speaking from personal experience, I have witnessed the drastic decrease in the rhino population in Zambia. When I was a child, we would go on safari and you were always guaranteed to see Rhino’s. Not just one, but also many. Today there are only two in the country left, but they are not native to the country, they were reintroduced and are now under 24hour surveillance. The reason for the extinction of Rhino’s in Zambia is only one, Poaching. I do not agree with the article in saying that we should legalize it at a tremendous price in the hopes that it will reduce the demand for it, because I feel that we are so far down the line of losing this species that it is too dangerous to risk that. Instead I think more Rhino rehabilitation centers need to be established, an increase in security needs to be put in, and most especially more strict laws need to be enforced. People need to know that there would be extremely harsh consequences for poachers found hunting Rhino’s. People need to find other ways of producing the medicinal properties that the Rhino horns contain.
I personally had no idea this had existed before reading this article. I knew that elephants were sought after because of their tusks but I’ve never heard of Rhinos. I cannot believe how much a Rhino horn is worth. It is a shame that we need to extinct this animal because the Chinese need the ingredients for medicine. I feel there should be ways to avoid this issue. Countries that are aware of this should conduct research to find a synthetic version of the ingredient, which we have done for virtually every other medicine. I find it interesting that economists believe that making it legal will actually save Rhinos from extinction. I see their view but I believe that it would become worse because then everybody would hunt them for their horn and extinct them that much sooner. I think we need to actually implement the law on violators. This would reduce the number of people hunting and killing these animals. I can compare this to insider trading. When the SEC catches somebody doing it, they give them a harsh sentence usually 25 years to life in jail. I believe that this should be done of violators to the killing rhino law. This I believe will reduce illegal hunts and let the Rhino population grow like it should be.
Nicholas Brodeur
Pace University
One thing I do have to say, specifically to Jessica is that I definitely see where you are coming from. There is a difference between medicine that is naturally growing in the world, like plants, and poaching animals that are already close to extinction. It's a horrible thing that many of our planets creatures renowned for their beauty like elephants, tigers, rhinos, etc. are being killed for their furs and horns. THe only reason is because of their value. There are many associations that are against this because of the above facts. BUt would making it legal solve these problems? In my opinion, absolutely not. Right now it is illegal to hunt these animals all together, think about the possibility of hunting these animals being legal. The only solution i see is devaluing the goods from the animals themselves. There will be problems, because there is virtually no way to close down a black market, or tell them that something has no value.
At least a few times a year, I watch the movie "the protector" starring Tony Jaa, an awesome Muy Thai fighter (great watch simply for the fighting scenes). The movie is about his elephants being kidnapped and he goes on a journey to retrieve them from Australia. The acting is poor at times, but it shows the cruel world of animal poachers and how much value exotic animals have. It is immoral, and more strives need to be taken to protect these animals
Rhino's should be domesticated. If there really is such a strong market for Rhino horns than the government should allow farmers to domesticate them. I assure you no animal will go extinct if someone is making money from it. The farmers will reproduce the Rhino's to the point of surplus and then the Rhino market will be so over supplied as farms usually are and the demand for rhino's will go down.
In economics there is a supply because there is a demand. Simply put, if the demand is no longer there, then there wouldn't be a supply. In this case, the Chinese are demanding Rhino horns for medicinal purposes and they are paying $1842 per ounce which is a higher buying price than gold. With such a strong demand, there are about 2 Rhinos being killed illegally every day. There are armed guards protecting what little are left but this doesn't seem to be a solution. A real solution would be to stop the demand of the horns. If the local government of Africa interfere with the trade of the horns and money transaction, essentially make the risk of collecting the horn too high, this could potentially slow down the killing.
It is disappointing and disgusting that people hunt these majestic animals for the sake of ‘medical purposes’. Every year, significant advancements are made in the medical technology field; as such I find it hard to believe that rhino horns make a significant impact in modern medicine. Park rangers may try to protect these animals, however, often in this process they endanger themselves as poachers too target them. Rhinos are continuously being slaughtered at alarming rates for seemingly pointless reasons. Baby rhinos are often forced to calve and fend for themselves as their mothers are continuously poached. One may ask, why is nothing being done? However, the ‘good’ guys often have very limited resources to make a significant difference to daily threats faced by the rhinos. The article poses the idea that economists think that legalizing poaching will help solve this problem, as regulations would be put in place. However, this idea is a ridiculous one; if poachers won’t stop hunting rhinos when its illegal, what’s to make them stop and stay within regulations when it is legal? Looking to the future, the best defense is educating the public about this ever increasing problem and the threat it poses to the rhino population. History shows us, the more informed people are the more they will demand change and subsequent action.
Tania Leal
I feel like there is so much that needs to be done before you ever put a price on a rhino's horn. Yes, I do feel bad and at some level I do call myself an animal lover but this case has many faults and life is not looking good for a rhino. The fact that the horn is sold at such a high price is probably the reason why they are in high demand. If you can illegally shoot a rhino without getting caught and still make a huge profit, who would say no? Yet perhaps you do get caught, now what? The government would take away your stash and profit from it but the rhino will still be dead. Sure, we can install a preservation but that would cost a lot of money and like the drug market, someone would find a way around the system. I honestly think there would be no solution because people are internally always wanting, it just depends on what price they're wiling to settle for.
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