Millions of dollars is being spent on armed patrols and high-tech surveillance to deter rhino poachers in Africa, but new research suggest another approach: removing the rhinoceros horns. A study published in the journal Science found a 78% drop in poaching in eight southern African wildlife reserves after dehorning efforts. Just over 1% of anti-poaching spending now goes toward dehorning, the New York Times reports. Experts suggest dehorning isn't a permanent answer to poaching but might allow for other solutions to be developed, including addressing demand for the horns in China and Vietnam.
The researchers tracked the poaching deaths of 1,985 rhinos, about 6.5% of the area's population, from 2017 to 2023. In that period, more than $74 million was spent to combat poaching in several protected areas, and more than 700 people were arrested. Dehorned rhinos were still killed by poachers at times for their horn stumps. But the study's authors pointed out that the law enforcement campaign had no measurable impact on poaching rates. The reasons probably include poverty, corruption, and an ineffective justice system, said Timothy Kuiper, a South African professor who wrote the study. Among the factors driving demand for the horns is that there are cultures where the horns, despite scientific evidence, are thought to have medicinal value.
Poaching has pushed most rhino species to the brink of extinction, per Science Alert. The study found that 70 to 134 rhinos had been saved during the year after dehorning in the eight reserves, per the Times. The process involves sedating the rhino and sawing off their horns above the nerve—which experts liken to trimming fingernails; the horns grow back in about 18 months. Kuiper said he considers dehorning "a small thing that can be done to hopefully buy time for the broader work that needs to happen" to stop the poaching. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
