54 percent of the illegal rhino horn trade are attributed to China and Vietnam!

China and Viet Nam have long been labelled the two biggest markets for the rhino horn trade, but now the extent of Chinese and Vietnamese involvement in the market has been documented for the first time in an interactive map produced by the Environmental Investigation Agency.

Cataloguing publicly available data on seizures and thefts across the globe, the map shows that during the last decade a staggering 54% of all rhino horn seizures worldwide involve Chinese and Vietnamese nationals, but that the conviction rate for these thefts is minimal.

Other key trends include an escalation of arrests outside the poaching epicentre of the last few years, South Africa, as the crisis spills into Namibia and back into Zimbabwe, and a surprising spate of museum heists across Europe. Produced to coincide with World Environment Day on 5 June, it is hoped the map will spur governments to tighten legislation and enforcement efforts.

Save the Rhino Vietnam Success

The launch of SRI’s Save the Rhino
Vietnam campaign generated a huge amount of press interest in Viet Nam, with two of the country’s most famous celebrities – top comedian Xuan Bac and musical diva Le Houng – helping to put rhino horn consumption firmly on the country’s agenda.

In early June, Arrow star and campaign ambassador Paul Blackthorne arrived back in London after two weeks promoting the campaign in Hanoi. He landed home to some fantastic news: SRI sold more than 1,600 campaign t-shirts, raising $21,890 for our partner ENV, which campaigns to reduce demand for rhino horn.

Thank you to everyone who took part and bought a t-shirt. Please do send us a photo or tag a selfie on Instagram.

Running For Rangers

Congratulations to the Running for Rangers team who completed the “Beyond the Jungle” ultra-marathon in Peru, running 230k over 5 days to raise funds for rangers and their families in Kenya.

We’re delighted to report that out of 20 people who crossed the finish line having completed the whole distance (rather than a shorter course), all 10 of the Running for Rangers team completed the race.

Even food poisoning, a concussion, a couple of sprained ankles and multiple blisters, chafing and bruises couldn’t stand in their way.

Greater one-horned rhinos: corruption, translocation and a landmark two years

The Indian province of Assam, home to the world’s largest concentration of Greater one-horned rhinos, has been rocked by high-level corruption in Kaziranga National Park in the wake of a high-profile rhino poaching incident during a ministerial visit. Over the border in Nepal, the first ever case of TB in rhino has been confirmed, just as the country celebrated two years in a row poaching free.

P.S. We didn’t take sides, but we did love the inspiration behind Iceland’s unexpected charge at the Euro Championships!

Photo credits: Denise Ackerman Photography, Fabian Muhlberger Photography,Education For Nature-Vietnam and Save the Rhino International.