It’s
a well written, harrowing article about the plight of the rhino, despite the
brave efforts of rangers. The forces of
evil are not only the killers, but the crime syndicates – notably the Chinese
mafia, many of them permanently based in South Africa. Sadly, demand in the Far
East is booming for rhino horns, which supposedly can cure impotence, cancer
and Aids. Clearly, trades description laws don’t apply there… In Vietnam, the
affluent believe taking rhino horn powder protects their livers so they can
drink alcohol to excess without damage! Maybe they should check with their
doctors first.
As
Andrew Malone points out, the horn isn’t magical at all. It is simply
compressed keratin – the same protein found in human hair and nails. So those
duped individuals in the Far East would obtain just as much benefit from
chewing or drinking powdered clippings from their own toenails.
It
seems to me that the fight is not only against the poachers, the syndicates, and
the traders, all who get rich, but also against the closed minds that believe
in the ‘magical’ properties of rhino horn.
Where
does Prince William come in? Next month he will attend and support a conference
in Downing Street on the illegal wildlife trade on behalf of United for
Wildlife. The £12billion trade in this illegal trade is presently just behind
drug, gun and people smuggling in terms of illegal earnings; and of course these
international crimes feed into each other.
See my blog 'more valuable than gold or cocaine' here
‘Tons
of confiscated ivory will be burned’ – Hong Kong
According
to the International New York Times, 24 January, Hong Kong intends to destroy
95% of one of Asia’s major hoards of confiscated ivory. China is understood to
be the world’s biggest end-market for poached ivory. Twenty-eight tons of ivory
held by the HK authorities is to be incinerated, beginning this year – though it
will take one or two years to complete the job. One ton of the stockpile will
be retained ‘for legitimate uses, such as enforcement and education’ – Reuters.
I
make no apology for returning to this subject, a subject which forms the core of my book
Blood
of the Dragon Trees:
(excerpt)
Andrew raised a hand in
surrender. ‘I wasn’t joking when I said I was into conservation, you know.’
Laura
spread more paste on her chunk of bread, studying his lips, waiting.
‘I’m
working for CITES.’
‘What’s
that, an eco-friendly building firm?’
‘Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species.’
Endangered species, she thought, that’s worthy. She swallowed and sighed.
‘I’m not much wiser. What endangered species does Tenerife have that needs
protecting?’
‘Beautiful
teachers?’
She
felt her cheeks redden and sipped her glass of Dorada, on-tap lager beer.
‘Stick to the confession, Andrew.’
He
sipped his black coffee, annoyingly taking his time. ‘Jalbala works with me.
We’ve been assigned here as Tenerife seems to be a conduit, one of many, for
transporting certain forbidden items derived from endangered species.’
‘You
know, you talk like a politician at times. What do you mean, “certain forbidden
items”?’
‘CITES
banned more than eight hundred – yes, eight hundred – species. And the trade in
another 30,000 items is controlled worldwide.’
‘You
still haven’t told me what your “items” are.’ Despite herself, she found that
her tone was bordering on exasperation.
‘I’ll
give you a few for-instances, then.’
‘That
would be helpful,’ she said. ‘I could do with a few for-instances right now.’
‘Tigers
are being hunted to extinction, but I’m sure you know that.’
Condescending swine, she thought, and
nodded.
‘Well, tiger bone is
supposed to help rheumatism. The poor animal’s nose is used for treating
epilepsy and its brain gets rid of pimples and cures laziness!’
‘You’re
kidding me, aren’t you?’ She lowered her Dorada glass, and licked the foam off
her upper lip. ‘This is the twenty-first century, you know.’
He
shook his head and said ruefully, ‘I wish I was kidding. Believe it or not,
Chinese stores in UK sell this banned stuff – and a lot more besides. And
similar shops exist throughout Europe.’
She put out a hand and
rested it on Andrew’s. ‘That’s absolutely awful. Maybe they’re only wild
animals, but they’re beautiful creatures and don’t deserve to be slaughtered
for idiotic reasons like removing pimples!’
Andrew
sighed. ‘If it were only so simple. For over a thousand years, the poor old tiger
has been known for its supposed healing powers – pills, creams, plasters,
powders in traditional Chinese medicines. And it’s not just tigers they rely on
for their medicines: leopard and rhino are slaughtered to pander to their
needs.’
‘I
know the rhino isn’t the most attractive of creatures, but even I have heard
that the white rhino is close to extinction.’ She smiled, gazing into memory.
‘Their babies, like the hippos, are cute, just miniatures of their parents…’
‘Cute
doesn’t cut it where big money’s involved, Laura. Not so long ago, 150 rhino
horns, valued at over two million pounds, were seized in a couple of London
lock-ups.’
‘I
see,’ she said soberly. ‘That’s a lot of money.’
He
nodded, eyes sad. ‘The tip of the iceberg.’
Blood of the Dragon Trees – pp64-67
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The
Kindle e-book Blood of the Dragon Trees
