Rhino skulls from poached rhinos lined up on a table.

Credit: Steve & Ann Toon

Reducing illegal horn trade

To stop rhino poaching, we need to tackle its root cause: consumer demand for rhino horn. Without consumer demand, there will be no incentive for poachers or traffickers.

In the key consumer and trafficking countries for rhino horn – Vietnam and China, high demand and low enforcement of wildlife crime are driving the illegal trade and poaching of rhinos. To address this problem, we fund cutting-edge social marketing initiatives to stop consumers from wanting to buy horn in the first place.

Did you know

Rhino horn

is made from keratin and has no proven medicinal properties

Rhino horn is very desirable amongst the wealthy classes of Vietnam, where it is considered a symbol of power and wealth, associated with business success and high social standing. This cultural importance is supported by an underlying belief in health benefits, in the form of traditional and non-traditional medicine. Some users believe that rhino horn can detoxify the body and therefore cure anything, from a hangover to serious illnesses. However, this lacks any scientific backing as rhino horn is made from keratin: the same material as your nails and hair. Though most consumers understand that purchasing rhino horn results in a rhino death, they feel disconnected and do not see themselves as part of the rhino poaching crisis.

We are committed to addressing the source of the demand for rhino horn, and reduce consumer behaviour across South East Asia. We are engaged with two demand reduction initiatives with Education for Nature Vietnam and TRAFFIC, working tirelessly in Vietnam with communities to reduce consumer behaviours that are driving rhinos towards extinction.

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Image of Save the Rhino Deputy Director, Jon Taylor

“Stopping rhino poaching doesn’t just mean stopping poachers, it also means stopping the illegal markets for rhino horn that drive this horrible trade. Challenging these markets, as with all our work, needs a team effort.”

Jon Taylor, Managing Director, Save the Rhino International

Where we work

Find our projects that help reduce the illegal trade by clicking on the brown icons.

Select a marker on the map below or choose from this list:

Protecting Rhinos

Reducing Illegal Horn Trade

Involving Communities

Bringing Experts Together

Stories from our work

Pioneering Chi campaign is changing consumer behaviour

The Chi Campaign was developed to change the behaviour of the most prolific user of rhino horn in Vietnam. Since launching, the campaign has reached a large section of its target audience, showing a promising sign that it is beginning to alter behaviour. We are proud to have supported this pioneering campaign to reduce demand for rhino horn in Vietnam.

Meet Madelon, former Country Director for TRAFFIC in Vietnam

Madelon is a former Country Director for TRAFFIC in Vietnam, an international wildlife trade monitoring network, tasked with investigating both legal and illegal trades in species. During a visit to London, we caught up with Madelon to find out more about TRAFFIC’s work to reduce consumer demand for rhino horn in Vietnam.

#SaveTheRhinoVietnam documentary

On the World Wildlife Day 2017, Jake Dudman released his documentary, Save the Rhino Vietnam: Journey to the Edge of Extinction. The film uncovers the country’s underground trade, meets the Vietnamese conservationists turning the tide, and looks to the task ahead for all of us – how can we save the rhino?