There are a lot of initiatives under way to stop the relentless increase in rhino poaching. Unfortunately, we are not seeing any discernable success as rhino poaching continues to grow at a rate of around 50% a year. In order to properly understand the problem we need to look at the link between customer demand for genuine rhino horn (which currently mostly comes from Viet Nam) and the complex supply chain that has been put in place to satisfy this rising demand. In essence, there are only three possible approaches to saving rhinos in the wild: Destroy the supply chain, Break the demand, or Legalise the product and trade. The third strategy is highly contentious because there is [...]

As individuals we are not fixed in our nature, we evolve and adapt due to different life circumstances and are able to deal with greater intellectual and emotional complexity. Spiral Dynamics is one of the models used to describe this evolution. According to developers of Spiral Dynamics, Graves, Beck and Cowan, our core values progress and regress over time depending upon the life circumstances we find ourselves in. The research undertaken over many years has uncovered that this model works on the individual level and also on the level of a group or even whole societies; it also established that this model is independent of culture, which led them to believe that it is associated with the ‘deep structure’ [...]

The demand for illegal and endangered wildlife products needs an ever greater focus. Some animals have become so valuable for their parts that the cost of their 24/7 security is becoming prohibitive. In such instances, when there is limited time for awareness raising and education, brand breaking for behaviour change strategies are needed. Similarly, while education and awareness raising can be broad and appeal to the community, when immediate behaviour change is needed then the focus should be on the actual users of these illegal/endangered products. For the behaviour change message to be effective with the actual user it needs to elicit an immediate emotional response in the person; to do this they are generally controversial. [...]

Affluent Mothers Why do affluent Asian mothers also use rhino horn? They are probably the wives of the wealthy businessmen who use rhino horn and they often use it as 'insurance' in case their child gets sick. Mock Ad - Sick Child Believe that rhino horn can help children be healthy and strong; and regain strength in times of weakness/illness Believe in fever-reducing qualities of rhino horn - in line with original use in Chinese/Vietnamese medicine and keep small quantities at home in case child gets a high fever Small individual quantities are given, but group size is large, therefore demand will continue to grow with economic growth [...]

In order to address the demand side, a good understanding of the consumer of rhino horn in Vietnam is required, including their primary motivations for obtaining and consuming rhino horn. Vietnam has a population of about 92 million people, with approximately 80% of the populace under the age of 40 and 72% of this majority under the age of 24. The median age is 27.8 years (2011 data). Given the young age of the population very little of the demand is driven by ancient culture or traditional medicine. The primary driver is the aspirational demands of a rapidly increasing class of young and affluent people who use rhino horn as a status symbol. This means that [...]

Less than 2 years ago we were losing 1 rhino every 24 hours to poachers in South Africa. At the beginning of 2013 it was 1 rhino every 11 hours and, in a matter of months, it’s now standing at 1 rhino every 9 hours. Want more information on rhino poaching? To see the tragic reality of what is happening to the rhino check out the website Stop Rhino Poaching, but a warning: some of the images are distressing. The exponential growth of the killing spree is due to the rapid rise in wealth in Asia and currently the main culprit causing the demise of the rhino are businessmen in Viet Nam. Since 2003 Vietnam has [...]

In an attempt to prevent poaching, game reserves are now injecting poison into the rhinos' horns to scare off consumer demand, as reported by The Guardian recently. Currently, this strategy is not well known in Viet Nam and it would be helpful if there was more public awareness the risk of ingesting poisoned rhino horn. Because rhino horn consumption is associated with health/strength by all primary user groups, they will concerned about poisoned rhino horn entering the supply chain. The users of rhino horn need to be made aware of the rhino horn poisoning strategy, particularly given that the toxins used included organophosphates. If the users ingest these toxins they become very sick with nausea and [...]