#RhinoHorn for sale at "antique shops" in China

If you want to buy rhino horn in China, all you need to do is walk into an "antiques shop" and ask. That's how easy it is - even though the trade has been outlawed since 1993.

"The rhino horn products they show you are far from unique, though," says Andrea Crosta, the executive director of the Elephant Action League. "They're new and have most likely been illegally trafficked from Africa to Vietnam and then into China."

These are among the main findings of a new hard-hitting report by the Elephant Action League (EAL), gleaned from the results of an 11-month undercover investigation. The report, Grinding Rhino, An Investigation into Rhino Horn Trafficking in China and through the China-Vietnam border, was released today, by the US-based non-profit.

Dubbed Operation Red Cloud, it's the result of numerous undercover missions in China and Vietnam from August to June this year to "target the latter part of the rhino horn supply chain" - China and Vietnam. These were designed to expose and map rhino horn trade networks, identify participants and document the means by which rhino horn is trafficked through Vietnam, into and through China.

This is because, the EAL says, while a wealth of information exists on the illegal rhino trade in Vietnam, far less is known about China's rhino horn trade. "There have not been any targeted investigations into the rhino horn trade in China in decades, so it was extremely important to get a current and clear picture of the market."

Its investigative team was able to find available rhino horn in nearly every location visited. "Rhino horn products are not sold openly nor openly displayed in shops, but when confronted with a few niceties and targeted inquiries from buyers, dealers make themselves known."

Crosta says the rhino horn trade in Vietnam and China is widespread. "We found that China’s demand for rhino horn is pervasive with no sign of waning, that rhino horn is present and available for sale throughout China, and that government officials, including Chinese Army and Navy commanders, may be involved in the trade as traffickers and buyers. We recorded this information during a meeting with a well-informed rhino horn trader."

The unprecedented consumer demand for rhino horn in China and Vietnam is "creating extraordinary economic incentives" for poaching and trafficking in African countries. "The price identified was between $26,500 and $40,000/kg for whole raw rhino horn, and between $34 and $70/gram for cut objects. The report reveals how the black market for rhino horn is "alive and well" in China. Behind this forbidden trade is "an extremely complex web of traffickers, transporters, wholesale dealers and traders", which makes enforcement difficult for local, national and international authorities.For the investigation, the EAL team focused on provinces along the southern border of China — Guangxi, Guangdong, and Yunnan — as well as Henan, Fujian, Beijing, and a few key locations in Vietnam.

Among the main findings include:

- The corruption exhibited by customs and law enforcement authorities in Vietnamese and Chinese border regions is substantial

- Most dealers don't hold a large inventory of rhino horn. Instead, material is generally sourced on demand and sold only to familiar customers to avoid detection

-Similar routes are used for all types of contraband, including illegal arms and narcotics

-Investigators found large amounts of other wildlife products including tiger teeth, skins and bones, ivory, bear paws, bile and gallbladders, hawksbill turtle shells, helmeted hornbill beaks, snow leopard skins, civet cats, king cobras, wolf skin and teeth and corals

- Dealers have established connections, in Vietnam or Guangxi in many instances, from where they source rhino horn stock.

-Most dealers do not hold a large inventory of rhino horn (whole, raw, or carved). Instead, material is sourced somewhat on-demand in order to avoid detection by authorities.

- Due to frequent inspections and crackdowns in the primary retail markets, sellers are very cautious when dealing with unfamiliar people.

-If a buyer is ‘familiar’ to the seller, he/she is generally charged less than a ‘stranger’ (new customer).

- Ivory, rhino horn, and other illegal wildlife goods can be found at most redwood furniture and craft markets and traditional Chinese medicine markets in the regions investigated

-Many dealers offer delivery of wildlife products via courier services.

- WeChat, the mobile application, is used extensively by dealers to connect with buyers and exhibit available rhino horn products. Alipay is used by many to process payment transactions.

-A seasoned rhino horn dealer, with a position at the local Association of Collectors, alleged prior involvement with commanders in the Chinese military, where they used him to identify authentic wildlife products (such as rhino horn) for them to purchase, as well as allowed the Chinese navy fleet to pick up and carry wildlife contraband back to China.

The report noted, however, how many contacts did indicate that the market for rhino horn has slowed in the past few years, most citing a downward economy, a crackdown on the practice of gifting government officials, and escalated law enforcement.

Still, given the growing size and wealth of potential Chinese consumers, "we're facing a real existential threat for rhinos, even more than that for elephants, now that there are only about 25 000 rhinos left in Africa", warns Crosta.

The EAL says if its investigators can find and engage rhino horn traffickers, "it would be very easy for the Chinese authorities to do the same and crack down on this illegal market for good".

A separate 200-page Confidential Intelligence Brief was prepared for law enforcement in Vietnam, China and the US only and includes detailed information and evidence of 55 persons of interest involved in rhino horn trafficking in China and Vietnam.

EAL report on rhino poaching in SA:

Rhino poaching is "still up by over 8000%" in South Africa since 2007, where 79% of the African rhino population resides, says the EAL report. "The crisis has spread to Namibia, where poaching tripled from 2014 to 2015, and Zimbabwe, where poaching more than doubled."

As of July 2017, non-official estimates indicate that about 500 rhinos have already been poached in South Africa, it says. "This means that South Africa is on track to lose more than one thousand rhinos for the fifth straight year."

But the legalisation of the domestic trade in rhino horn in South Africa means that "it can generally be assumed the horn will eventually be smuggled out of the country (there's basically no domestic market in SA) and resold on the black market in Asia", warns the report. - Sheree Bega.