Rhino horn: Vietnam's new status symbol heralds conservation nightmare

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/04/rhino-horn-wildlife-trade-vietnam?intcmp=122


A young boy outside a traditional medicine shop in Hanoi that sells bowls for grinding down rhino horn. Photograph: Str/AFP/Getty Images

It is the new delicacy of choice among Vietnam's high-rollers. When the young, fashionable and rich gather to party, they increasingly spice up their drink with a special ingredient: rhino horn powder.

These status-conscious hedonists include men who believe that rhino horn can enhance their sexual performance. They apparently know or care little that, thousands of miles away, their obsession could one day drive a glorious animal to extinction.

Between 1990 and 2005, poachers in South Africa killed an average of 14 rhinos a year. Since then the number has soared. In 2010, 333 rhinos were poached. In 2011, it was 448. So far this year, 339 rhinos have been killed for their horn, putting 2012 on course to be the deadliest since records began.

[Nihil]

1. Solution:

Anyone who is caught possessing, buying or selling rhino horn gets their own horn cut off.

See how much *that* enhances their sexual performance ...