Legalising international trade in rhino horns is essential to save the remaining rhinoceros species, argues wildlife expert Martin Wikelski in the journal Science.

“A few years ago, I was very much against this idea but now looking at the grim situation we are in I believe we have to change our attitude to the issue of trade in rhino horn,” said Wikelski, of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour in Germany.

“International crime syndicates have overcome every countermeasure that conservationists have mounted to defend rhinos from poachers. The result has been a drastic drop in numbers of animals. By legalising trade in rhino horn we can take back control of the market and halt the loss.”

He proposes a system of controlled, legitimate transactions, where rhino horns are harvested non-lethally, allowing regrowth. The proceeds from these sales would fund rhino protection efforts. Currently, removed horns are stored in secure vaults, providing no financial benefit.

“In addition, a legal rhino horn market could increase demand, provide opportunities for money laundering, and complicate law enforcement’s ability to distinguish legal sources from illegal sources,” Rascha Nuijten, director of Future For Nature Foundation, wrote in a response to Wikelski’s arguments that was also published in Science.

Wikelski’s proposal, however, has sparked concerns among conservationists. Critics argue that creating a legal market would fail to curb poaching, as current illegal demand far outstrips potential legal supply and is expected to rise with growing wealth in consumer countries. Conservationists fear this could inadvertently fuel black-market activity, worsening the plight of rhinos.

Rhino horn, composed of keratin—the same protein as human hair and nails—is prized in traditional Chinese medicine for its supposed, yet scientifically unproven, medicinal properties. This belief has driven a catastrophic decline in rhino populations.

“It was traditionally prescribed in Asian medicine in the belief that it can reduce heat and toxins from the body,” said Jo Shaw, chief executive officer of Save the Rhino International. “More recently, demand has been more status driven and rhino horn is now embedded in serious organised, transnational crime networks.”

In the early 20th century, Africa and Asia were home to 500,000 rhinos. By 1970, this number had plummeted to 70,000, and today, only about 27,000 remain across five species: the black and white rhinos of Africa, and the Javan, Sumatran, and greater one-horned rhinos of Asia.

The situation is particularly dire for Asian rhinos. While Africa hosts over 6,000 black rhinos and 17,000 white rhinos, only about 4,000 one-horned rhinos remain in India and Nepal. In Indonesia, fewer than 70 Javan rhinos and between 34 and 47 Sumatran rhinos survive, both classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Privately managed reserves protect nearly half of the world’s white rhinos, but escalating poaching since the late 2000s has placed immense strain on estate owners. Rising costs and threats to personal safety have led many to abandon their conservation roles.

“As a result these estate owners who act as guardians for the species are giving up their custodianship because of the costs of protecting them against determined poachers and because of threats to their own personal safety,” Wikelski said.

State-run sanctuaries, such as South Africa’s Kruger National Park, have resorted to dehorning rhinos to deter poachers. Despite these efforts, poaching continues to take a heavy toll, disrupting rhino social structures and altering their behaviour.

“The answer is to create a controllable, traceable trade,” Wikelski said.

Wikelski contends that legalising trade could alleviate these challenges, but his claim is contested.

Conservationist Shaw cautions against polarising debates, advocating instead for a thorough examination of how regulated trade could genuinely benefit all five rhino species.

“Numbers of white rhinos have actually increased last year and they are not the ones that are threatened with extinction. It is the black, Java and Sumatran rhino that we ​really have to worry about and there is no certainty that legalising trade in white rhino horn will benefit their conservation.”

Shaw emphasises the importance of developing practical frameworks to ensure conservation goals are met without exacerbating existing threats.

“We would need to see the necessary level of detail and control to provide confidence that such a gamble wouldn’t end up doing more harm than good.”