
Scientists are attempting to disrupt the illegal rhino poaching industry by developing a cheap fake rhino horn to devalue the real thing.
Researchers hope that by flooding the rhino horn market with a cheap alternative which is very difficult to tell apart from the real thing, buyers and sellers will be confused by the product and demand for killing the endangered animals will fall.

Scientists at the University of Oxford and Fudan University in China have perfected a technique to make a fake rhino horn from horse hair.
Rhino populations around the world are in drastic decline, and many species are on the brink of extinction due largely to the poaching industry. This year Malaysia’s last male Sumatran rhino died.
Demand
Rhino horn can sell for $60,000 per kilo and trade is banned under EU laws, but the black market continues to thrive as the horns are believed to be a cure for cancer and other illnesses in China and Vietnam.
There’s little sign of a slow in demand around the world – it’s also known as an aphrodisiac in traditional Chinese medicine.
Researchers said the introduction of a fake would ‘confuse the trade’, as a flooding of the market would reduce financial rewards for poachers, smugglers and traders.
But some conservationists have warned about potential unintended consequences of the project.
Experts from Save the Rhino International have argued that adding more rhino horn – fake or not – could actually stimulate the market, filter more money to traders and increase demand.
The group said more efforts should be put into anti-poaching methods and reducing existing consumer demand.
Fake Rhino Horns
Rhino horns are made from tightly packed together hair which grows from the animal and is kept glued together through secretions.
The team of zoologists and molecular scientists worked out how to compress and mould horse hair – even mimicking the way a horn is cut from a rhino’s head.
“It appears from our investigation that it is rather easy as well as cheap to make a bio-inspired horn-like material that mimics the rhino’s extravagantly expensive tuft of nose hair,” said Prof Fritz Vollrath, from the University of Oxford’s Department of Zoology.
He also argued the scheme could “confuse the trade, depress prices and thus support rhino conservation”.
Opposition
While the researchers may have good intentions, many feel the scheme is too risky. John Taylor, deputy director of Save the Rhino International, does not believe flooding the market will help the wellbeing of rhinos.
He argues there will be unintended consequences of creating a more attractive product and increasing demand – even potentially increasing incentives for rhino poachers.
“There is no substitute for anti-poaching measures at one end and reducing demand at the other,” he said.
Trophy hunting
Rhino hunting is a controversial topic across the globe – from illegal poaching to legal hunting.
Earlier this year a trophy hunter applied to import a rare black rhino’s skin, skull and horns to the US after he paid $400,000 to kill the animal in Namibia.
It’s illegal under the Endangered Species Act to import trophies from endangered animals into the US unless it would help the survival of the species.
The hunter paid a wildlife conservation company to allow him to kill the animal in 2018 at the Mangetti National Park.
According to Namibia’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism, the rhino was interfering with the breeding of younger bulls and therefore damaging population numbers.
‘Off limits’
Only 5,500 critically endangered black rhinos remain living in the wild, half of which are in Namibia.
Kitty Block, the Humane Society’s president and chief executive, said: “With rhino poaching on the rise, now is the time to ensure that every living black rhino remains safe in the wild. Black rhinos must be off limits to trophy hunters.
“We urge our federal government to end this pay-to-slay scheme that delivers critically endangered rhino trophies to wealthy Americans while dealing a devastating blow to rhino conservation.”
What do you think of the trophy hunting industry? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Lifestyle
Vegan culture, food, beauty & more
What is a vegan shampoo? And 11 fantastic brands to try
- Mohsina Dodhiya
- 27th January 2023
Do you know which ingredients make your shampoo non-vegan? The cosmetic industry has gone through a radical shift in the last few years as more consumers become aware of the impact their purchases make. As a result, the demand for vegan hair care products has soared. Consumers are becoming more conscious of the ingredients in …
Continue reading “What is a vegan shampoo? And 11 fantastic brands to try”
Dietitians claim plant-based diet can stunt growth of infants
- Mohsina Dodhiya
- 18th January 2023
The NHS Start for Life website has added information about vegan and vegetarian babies. Nutritionists and dietitians have raised concerns about the health implications of vegan diets for babies following the publication of the NHS’s vegan infant nutrition guide. The NHS Start for Life website, which provides guidance for new parents, has added a new …
Continue reading “Dietitians claim plant-based diet can stunt growth of infants”
VEGAN MEMES
NEED A LAUGH?
QUIZZES
All the quizzes you love to binge!
QUIZ: If you score 11/12 on this quiz, you’re a verified vegan food expert
- Marlon Farrugia
- 10th January 2020
How much vegan knowledge do you have stored away? Do you have to Google your way through a shopping trip, or do you have all the bad E-numbers memorised? Find out now with this quiz. Marlon Farrugia Marlon Farrugia is a freelance writer from Brighton. He has been a dedicated vegan for many years, and …
Continue reading “QUIZ: If you score 11/12 on this quiz, you’re a verified vegan food expert”
QUIZ: What is your perfect Vegan Halloween Costume?
- Marlon Farrugia
- 13th October 2019
Spook Season approaches. There will be ghosts, goblins, ghouls, and glucose. You need a costume, and you want to it to show off your personality, which means VEGAN. But what to choose? Take our quiz to find out your perfect outfit. Marlon Farrugia Marlon Farrugia is a freelance writer from Brighton. He has been a …
Continue reading “QUIZ: What is your perfect Vegan Halloween Costume?”
QUIZ: What kind of vegetable are you?
- Marlon Farrugia
- 26th September 2019
“If you were a vegetable, what kind would you be?” A question that has tormented humanity throughout the ages – until now. Read: QUIZ: If you score 19/20 on THIS quiz, you’re a Vegan God Marlon Farrugia Marlon Farrugia is a freelance writer from Brighton. He has been a dedicated vegan for many years, and …