 Reference Base  Rhino poaching in Namibia from 1980 to 1990 and the illeg... |
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Martin, E.B., 1993. Rhino poaching in Namibia from 1980 to 1990 and the illegal trade in the horn. Pachyderm 17: 39-51, figs. 1-5, tables 1-5
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World |
| Subject: |
Trade |
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All Rhino Species |
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After the horns leave Namibia, almost all of them are sent to traders in South Africa, although small quantities are transported directly to Taiwan (Republic of China) and perhaps Hong Kong. South Africa is not only an entrepot for horns from Namibia, but also from Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique and Swaziland. The two main reasons for this are that the rand is a stronger and a more convertible currency than others in southern Africa, and there are many Taiwanese living in the country who are willing to buy the horn to export to Taiwan. Another advantage is that South,Africa is part of a Customs Union and therefore, if the horn is smuggled into one of the other countries in the Union (Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho), it can be moved to Johannesburg without the parcel being inspected by customs or other government authorities. In fact, most officials in the police and the parks and reserves dealing in anti-- poaching claim that the sealed containers which are continually moving in and out of South Africa are the greatest boon to the wildlife traders; less than 1% are ever inspected.
In 1990 and 1991 Taiwanese and other buyers in South Africa were purchasing horns for 1,200 to 2,500 rands ($435 to $900) a kilo. Most of them were then sold for export to Taiwanese, mostly businessmen, government officials and sailors, in order to supplement their incomes. It appears that many Taiwanese seamen are aware of the value of rhino horn. An interesting incident confirms this. In. 199 1, a Taiwanese ship docked in Port Elizabeth and four of the crew hired a taxi to drive to Addo National Park 70 kilometres north. As far as was known by the Park officials, these were the first Taiwanese to visit for several years. All they were interested in were two rhino horns on public display in the Park's tourist shop. They attempted to buy the horns, but were refused repeatedly by the shop's manager.
In addition to the use of sealed containers in South Africa, rhino horns are sometimes put into small parcels and posted to Taiwan or carried by Taiwanese on aeroplanes ind ships to Taipei and Kaohsiung. There is no evidence that South Africans are taking the horns to Taiwan. On reaching Taipei and Kaohsiung, many of the sailors involved go around to the main wholesalers and managers of the pharmacics and sell to whomever offers the highest prices. In 1990, someone who smuggled the horn into Taiwan could expect to receive about $2,000 a kilo, a considerable sum compared to what the person would have paid for it in South Africa. Although the trade was illegal in the late 1980s, Taiwan was then the largest importer of African horn in the world. This was partly because dealers there paid some of the highest prices. For instance, they offered twice as much as traders in Yemen. In Taiwan, the African horns were either consumed locally for medicine, especially to lower high fevers, or they were re-exported, mainly for the Chinese market.
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