Research finds rhino dehorning helps poaching - but it's no silver bullet

A groundbreaking seven-year study has confirmed what rangers on the frontline of South Africa's poaching war already suspected: removing a rhino's horn drastically reduces its risk of being killed.

- Jacqueline Herbst

But while dehorning may buy time, scientists warn it's not the long-term answer. Led by Nelson Mandela University George Campus' biodiversity scientist, Dr Tim Kuiper, the study, published in the journal Science on 5 June, tracked 2 284 dehorned rhinos across 11 reserves in the Greater Kruger region between 2017 and 2023. The results were clear-cut: where dehorning was implemented, poaching dropped by an average of 78%.

The study was coordinated by the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation and represents the first comprehensive look at dehorning's impact. Contributors included Nelson Mandela University, UCT, Stellenbosch University, Oxford University, SANParks, WWF SA and the Rhino Recovery Fund.

Despite its effectiveness, Kuiper warned dehorning was merely a stopgap. He said it was not ideal and was certainly not the ultimate solution. The real war, he reiterated, was against the transnational syndicates who drive the demand for rhino horn. Research shows the syndicates' resolve to keep going. Kuiper said new data show poachers are now targeting the stumps of regrown horns, even though they fetch far less on the black market than full horns. It appears at an average of $30 000 per kilogram (about R527 000), even scraps are worth killing for.