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Saving rhinos through chemistry

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Spector settled in Johannesburg after a career as a US diplomat in Africa and East Asia. He has taught at the U. of the Witwatersrand, been a consultant for an international NGO, run a famous Johannesburg theatre and remains on its board, and been a commentator for South African and international print/broadcast/online media, in addition to writing for The Daily Maverick from day one. Post-retirement, Spector has also been a Bradlow Fellow of the SA Institute of International Affairs and a Writing Fellow of the University of Johannesburg’s Institute for Advanced Studies. Only half humourously, he says he learned everything he needs to know about politics from ‘Casablanca.’ Maybe he's increasingly cynical about some things, but a late Beethoven string quartet, John Coltrane’s music, and a dish of soto ayam (one of Indonesia's great culinary discoveries) will bring him close to tears.

After attending a colloquy on the crisis in rhino poaching, I contemplated whether some really lateral, out of the box thinking is needed before rhinos and their ilk become historical memories.

Many years ago, when this writer lived in Japan, he enjoyed spending relaxed Saturdays at a popular open-air shopping mall in downtown Yokohama – Isezaki-cho. The place offered a wonderful profusion of stores selling pretty much everything one might conceivably desire – from those perfectly proportioned, blemish-less, outrageously expensive fresh fruits suitable for a gift to a treasured friend – and on to magnificently embroidered, lace sun umbrellas in a store that sold every possible variety of parasol. Well of course our quotidian needs usually did not run to that very pricy fruit or those exquisite sun umbrellas, but one could find pretty much everything else there as well.

Walking along that pedestrian mall, one finally traversed a particular cross street where the stores suddenly switched from those swanky, trendy ones to a row of traditional apothecaries. The change in stores was signified when one saw the first traditional Asian pharmacy on the next block because it had several large glass jars displayed prominently in the pharmacy’s show windows. Those big jars contained snakes and various other creatures in clear liquids preserving them, as well as such delicacies as desiccated bear claws – presumably for the delectation of customers with unusual culinary tastes, or to entice the adventurous into the shops to purchase traditionally prepared medicines from an ancient pharmacopeia.

Thinking back on it now, almost certainly, some of these creatures were endangered species, though back then relatively few gave it much thought about all this, even given the obvious fact that there are so few snakes left in Japan itself – and there aren’t many bears around anymore either. Naturally, inside the pharmacies, among hundreds of bins and drawers along the walls, there were certainly tiger and lion bones, rhinoceros horn and many other items we now understand to be internationally trafficked – illicitly – from the bodies of critically endangered animal species.

But what is it about the body parts of those select powerful (and sometimes unlikely) animals that makes their bits and pieces crucial components of a treasured pharmacopeia, rather than, say, some ground-up cow horn or some ordinary sheep bones? Why is it that chips from the long, extended single tusk or tooth of a narwhale, or shavings from a rhino’s horn are believed to impart special powers of health and healing, or sexual vigour and potency? Is there, somehow, a unique biochemical component of such body parts that is – implausibly – absent in every other body part from every other animal? Or, is it the appropriation of the assumed or ascribed spirit that animates the animal in question that continues to inhabit the animal’s individual parts – so that can be consumed and assimilated by the user for positive affect for that person thereafter? And is this belief system something that has come from eons before as a result of early human beliefs in totemic animals – only now it lives on in the traditional pharmacopeia, motivating current consumption?

As it happened, a few days ago, the writer attended a colloquy over this crisis in the growing plight of endangered species like the rhino and what must be done to preserve it for the future. Regardless of whether the speaker was from the government, the private game-raising sector, or from NGOs whose purpose was to protect these endangered animals by aggressive action to prohibit any trade in endangered animal body parts or limited hunting (and that peculiarly pernicious canned hunting of animals bred to be shot at close enclosures), there was consensus some species are about to hit a serious, even species-ending speed bump.

But the more the conversation went on, the clearer it became that the problem is actually several intertwined ones, rather than just one big one. And, lasting solutions were elusive. While the conversation was not meant to set out a final, broadly-agreed-to action plan, it showed the level of discord between the various interested parties – and the real danger that the arguments might well continue until after the last rhino has become a famous photo in a wildlife magazine.

For example, despite opposition by some speakers towards any hunting, others supported limited hunting and harvesting horns for sale. This, they argued, would keep the larger number of animals safer by undercutting poachers by generating a regular supply of those rhino horns (estimated to be worth a mind-boggling $100,000 per kilogram on the market) as legal sales. Some countered, however, that preventative measures were likely to be largely useless until the actual motivations of the actual poachers were better understood, or that law enforcement agencies traced the criminal supply chain up right up to the “Mr Bigs” (and the full roster of cooperating corrupt officials and game rangers) and suitable punishment was imposed. These would be crucial if there was any hope this illicit trade was properly squelched.

Other speakers insisted the key was in managing to extend real, rigorous anti-poaching protection to the endangered animals on private game farms – where a considerable share of the poaching now takes place, given the limited resources of private farmers to protect their animals. Government officials explained that the government was still considering the appropriateness or efficacy of controlled harvesting of such animals.

But, of course, the illicit trade in rhino horn, elephant ivory, lion bones, and live captive animals and birds ultimately depends on the consumer – or, rather, a veritable army of consumers. And in this instance, key consumers are in East Asia. While there seems to be some confusion as to whether prime consumers are actually Vietnamese or Chinese, it is increasingly clear these consumers will not be deterred by efforts to interdict poachers in South African animal reserves – the country is already on course to lose over a thousand rhinos this year alone.

This writer has been told that while the Chinese consumption of bones and horns is often connected to that ancient traditional pharmacopeia, in Vietnam, rhino horn usage has become a popular Thorstein Veblen-style act of conspicuous consumption on the part of the newly rich. Have a party, have some powdered rhino horn available for your guests to imbibe as a way of showing you can really spend it, something like a high-flying rapper’s conspicuous consumption of the most expensive champagne available at a never-ending house party, or the copious sprinkling of gold foil on top of sushi platters at Tokyo business receptions at the height of the property bubble there. The problem, of course, is that both Vietnam and China are now almost literally minting new dollar millionaires by the dozens as a result of their respective economic booms. And all of them, seemingly, want a piece of that rhino pie.

But, disappointingly, when asked about how South Africa could use some vigorous diplomacy to address any of this, government representatives fell back on the argument that a state, in this case, South Africa, has no leverage to apply pressure on another state, say, China, to crack down on the illegal importation and consumption of rhino horns, ivory or lion bones. (We’re talking here about China here, a nation that is aligned with South Africa in that BRICS grouping in a theoretical plan to bring mutual support to bear, and this is in a world where various international treaties already oppose illicit animal and animal parts trade in any case.)

As a nation, China, after all, has had little compunction about cracking down on Internet usage, on various ethnic minorities and religious sects and human rights campaigners, in the name of national cohesion and security. Surely a little discreet encouragement to China to encourage them to adhere to these already-extant international norms might be in order so as to preserve and protect a critically important part of this country’s patrimony? Natural tourism is a crucial element in this country’s economy – and very few tourists are going to travel to South Africa to see where the wild animals used to be roaming – so it shouldn’t be seen as an optional national interest.

But let’s assume the whole problem is a mess that just can’t be solved by effectively protecting the remnant remainder of these species by business as usual. Does this mean those animals are just pre-destined to go the way of all those other extinct species – the Dodo, the Tasmanian Devil, the Passenger Pigeon, and so many others – creatures that have vanished in this, the most recent phase of the Anthropocene Era?

Only slightly tongue-in-cheek, we now offer a four-point plan to deal with this scourge, making creative use of high technology and the growing impact of social media. So, here it is.

First of all, South Africa needs to accept that fact that whatever is done, there will continue to be a demand for these products. Even if every rhino in creation has its own personal bodyguard or two, somebody will undoubtedly figure out a way to slaughter the poor beast by corrupting those guards, or simply outgunning them if needs be. So, what about a major commitment to use the best possible scientific knowledge to begin a major national breeding effort for these animals?

Rhinos are hard to breed in captivity, you say? Until very recently it was virtually holy writ that pandas were almost impossible to breed in captivity; they didn’t enjoy captivity much in the first place, and they apparently didn’t like each other very much either whenever they were in those enclosures. But, in recent years, the Chinese have managed to establish a breeding-in-captivity research station in Cheng-du that has achieved a roster of some seventy successfully bred baby pandas. If the pandas (and their keepers can do that), surely rhino breeders can draw on scientific researchers and up the rhino’s output too.

Second, let’s put that sometimes-hated (or feared) GMO technology to work on the problem as well. Instead of having all those dreadful fights over whether GMO seeds are going to deliver a terrible biological holocaust for the world’s bees or with our civilisation’s mono-cultural grain harvests, let us put that particular struggle on hold for a few years and focus on making rhinos grow their horns much faster and much, much larger – or perhaps even pluck a gene or two from caribou or reindeer and make the rhino have horns that are automatically shed yearly. Impossible, can’t be.

Third, let us remember that the rhino’s horn is basically made of just one simple biological protein – keratin – extruded naturally by the rhino’s body over time. And, of course, keratin is the building block of hair, nails and hooves – all of it, pretty much everywhere. Keratin’s not something that is truly exotic or extremely hard to find. It is not diamonds or coltan, after all. So, why not create a synthetic keratin industry (the writer assumes this industry would not have to harvest fingernail clippings, but maybe human hair can be used as raw material) that produces oodles of factory-made rhino horn at a guaranteed high level of quality, texture and consistency? Then, put an SABS stamp on this new supply stream and proudly explain about all of the exhaustive testing mechanisms being used to ensure purity and high quality. Then, begin a massive advertising and social media campaign to punt this new and improved version of pure, unadulterated, genuine certified rhino horn extract – safe and easy to use, absolutely guaranteed not to contain any terrible disease-causing impurities, and with an absolutely consistent chemical quality – or double your money back?

And then as a clincher, the final part of the plan, harness the undoubted power of social media to push the new party line that one can never be too careful about that nasty, dirty, natural rhino horn. Say, wasn’t there a case of that poor family in Haiphong, Vietnam where everyone was fatally poisoned by tainted rhino horn they purchased from a shadowy trader? And then what about that sports team party in Shanghai where all the men who were there are now unable to help create children after that big rhino horn consuming party? Surely traditional medical people will want to rush out and buy, instead, those new SABS-tested, certified and sterile-pack doses of the new Unicorn brand rhino horn in those convenient twelve-pack sachets – better living through chemistry and all that. Won’t they?

Okay, maybe the annual shedding and harvesting of rhino horns is still a bit of a chimaera. But this writer has read of genetically modified rabbits that now have genes that produce bio-luminescent cells and chemicals in their skin, just like those mysterious glowing deep sea fish, so maybe anything is possible. And there is also research producing body parts such as the cartilage of a human ear in the lab, so no one really knows what’s possible on this front. What is clear is that if something isn’t done pretty soon, Daily Maverick readers’ grandchildren will only learn about these magnificent animals from collections of old National Geographic DVDs.

As a result, South Africans may need to undertake a deep change in the way they think about their exquisite wildlife endowment. Years ago, an old hand at international trade negotiations pointed out just how important understanding new perspectives was when he explained that one key to the difficulties Americans and Japanese were then having respectively in dealing with Japanese quotas for beef imports and US demands for further restrictions on whaling.

He argued that one way to look at this question was to realise Americans largely see whales and dolphins as much less like cows and poultry (and high quality protein farms) and much more like dogs and cats. Virtually nobody in the US (except for vegetarians) has a problem raising and harvesting a cow (even though it too is a mammal, just like those cetaceans), but at least in the US and in much of the West, virtually everyone sees those whales as less like a food source and much more like giant, sea-going pets, worthy of appreciation, custodianship and conservation. Just like those lumbering rhinos? DM

 

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