Rhino Horn Smuggling to China and Vietnam

The Elephant Action League published in July 2017 a report titled "Grinding Rhino: An Undercover Investigation on Rhino Horn Trafficking in China and Vietnam" by Andrea Crosta, Kimberly Sutherland, and Chiara Talerico.

Continued consumer demand for rhino horn in China and Vietnam has created economic incentives for, and a resurgence of, poaching and trafficking in African countries. The report provides information on the rhino horn black market in China and how rhino horn is smuggled from Vietnam to China and then sold and distributed in China.

Decimation of African Rhinos and the Illegal Asian Trade

The October 2016 issue of National Geographic published an article titled "Deadly Trade" by Bryan Christy and Brent Stirton.

The article documents the decimation of the African rhino population in order to export illegally rhino horn primarily to China and Vietnam where it is a popular but ineffective medicine and hangover cure. Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are no longer significant consumers of rhino horn. About 98 percent of Africa's black and white rhinos are found in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.

Rhino Poaching and East Asian Policies

Meryl Burgess, research analyst at the Centre for Chinese Studies at Stellenbosch University, published in December 2012 a nice briefing on rhino poaching and East Asian policies.  She noted that 2011-2012 witnessed the highest levels of poaching and illegal trade in rhino horn in many years bringing some rhino species to near extinction in Africa and Asia.  The rhino poaching crisis is especially harmful to China's image.