Conservation - Rhino Horn and Ivory: a sensitive issue

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LETTER 
 Open Access

The Allure of the Illegal: Choice Modeling of Rhino Horn Demand in Vietnam

Nick Hanley - Oleg Sheremet - Martina Bozzola - Douglas C. MacMillan

First published: 16 October 2017

Abstract

Using choice modeling, we explore willingness to pay for rhino horn among existing and potential future consumers in Vietnam. We find that wild‐sourced horn, harvested humanely from the least rare species, is the most highly valued product. Furthermore, consumers are willing to pay less for rhino horn products under a scenario where international trade is legalized compared to the current situation of illegal trade. We discuss the potential implications of our findings on rhino poaching and international trade policy.

Introduction
Poaching remains a critical threat to the survival of many species worldwide, including tiger and rhino (Milliken & Shaw 2012; Saif et al. 2016). The global conservation community, working through international bodies such as CITES, is committing significant resources to the fight against poaching as well as demand reduction measures (CoP16; Decision 16.85, 2013). However, serious question marks remain concerning the effectiveness of current approaches and policies, as poaching rates and demand for animal parts, especially those used in traditional Asian medicine, remain stubbornly high (Challender & MacMillan 2014; Olmedo et al. 2017).

Crucial aspects of the demand and supply for wildlife parts used in traditional medicine ™ remain poorly understood (Collins et al. 2013). In this article, we explore demand for rhino horn in Vietnam deploying a choice experiment (CE) to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) for rhino horn with different attributes. In traditional Asian medicine, rhino horn is prescribed for a variety of ailments and conditions including fever and alcohol poisoning, and is greatly valued as a gift in family and business circles in Vietnamese society (Biggs et al. 2013). Our sample was drawn from 857 Vietnamese citizens who have purchased or who expressed an interest in purchasing rhino horn for medicinal use, and is the largest survey conducted to date with these consumer groups.

The CE method has been used to investigate consumer demand for illegally hunted wildlife products, in the context of rural households in Tanzania for reducing consumption of bushmeat (Moro et al. 2015); to estimate the willingness of illegal bushmeat hunters in Tanzania to reduce time spent hunting (Moro et al. 2013), in the demand for bushmeat in Vietnam (Shairp et al. 2016); and the demand for bear bile (Dutton et al. 2011). CEs are particularly well‐suited to investigate the demand for illegally obtained wildlife products as data on actual consumption preferences is hard to acquire because of their illegal nature and presenting hypothetical choices avoids the need to interrogate about actual use.

For a complete reading, access the link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12417

 

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