Demand for rhino horn in Vietnam decreases

SKUKUZA – Demand for rhino horn in Vietnam has decreased by 38 per cent since the launch of a public education and awareness campaign a year ago.

The campaign was jointly implemented by Humane Society International (HSI) and the Vietnam CITES Management Authority, according to poll results released recently.

CITES parties had requested that the country – the world’s largest consumer of rhino horn – implement a communication campaign to reduce demand for the substance, which is falsely believed by some to have medicinal properties. The campaign was focused on the capital city, Ha Noi, and engaged stakeholder groups including the 800 000-member Ha Noi Women’s Association, the business community, university students, schoolchildren, and the scientific community, as well as many leading health experts, to help spread messages against the use of rhino horn.

Learners received copies of HSI’s book, I’m A Little Rhino, as part of their curriculum. Advertisements also appeared on billboards within the city and at the airport, and on the sides of city busses. Campaign messages were further spread throughout Vietnam through hundreds of press articles.

Pre- and post-campaign polls conducted by the office of the international public polling firm, Nielsen revealed a dramatic reduction in public demand since its inception – only 2,6 per cent of people in the country continue to buy and use rhino horn, a statistically significant decrease of 38 per cent since the campaign started in August 2013.

An even more dramatic decline in people in Ha Noi (on which it was most concentrated) buying and using rhino horn, going down from 4,5 to 1 per cent. Only 38 per cent of the national population (down from 51 per cent last year) and 21 per cent of people in Ha Noi City (down from 45 per cent last year) still believe that rhino horn has medicinal value.

Of those polled who still think it can treat diseases, 60 per cent believe it can treat cancer and 40 per cent believe it is good for rheumatism. Dr Teresa Telecky, PhD, director of the wildlife department for HSI, said, “Insatiable demand for rhino horn is driving these animals to the brink of extinction, so reducing that demand is crucial. These poll results demonstrate that, even in a relatively short period of time, our demand-reduction campaign succeeded in significantly and dramatically altering public perception and influenced behaviour. The results offer a vital ray of hope for the survival of rhino.”