Could legalising the trade in rhino horn – and allowing sport hunting – be the solution to Africa’s rhino poaching problem? Legalisation, it is argued, will make it easier to control the trade in animal products and negate the black market. It’s a similar argument to one often used about the legalisation of marijuana – as Hugo Rifkind wrote a couple of weeks ago:
‘This is an economic land grab. It is the process of taking a criminal industry away from criminals.’
Controlling a legal trade in animal products is easier said than done, however. Authorities have struggled to suppress the illegal trade, so there are doubts about whether they can regulate a legal one. The economics are uncertain, too. Flooding the market with legal rhino horn would increase its availability, thereby decreasing its value. But, even if that were to happen, there might not be enough rhino horn in the world to meet growing demand.
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