Posts in the News Category

Based on the information Breaking The Brand gathered from interviewing the users of genuine rhino horn in Viet Nam, we know that status and belonging to a high-status peer group are key motivators for rhino horn consumption. This was also the conclusion of work done by TRAFFIC in Viet Nam – see here.

The best way of stemming consumption in these primary user groups involves undermining the role of rhino horn as a medium for communicating prestige, both in general and more specifically within the user’s peer group or the peer group they aspire to be a part of.

The primary user of genuine rhino horn – high status male: Analysis of the businessman (high status male) user group in Viet Nam shows the groups focus is the symbolic value of rarity and expense. They perceive that acquiring a rare product is associated with money, power and skill. Similarly, a rhino horn gift is used to demonstrate respect and competence when negotiating deals and initiating new business relationships. Gifts are also used to influences and obtain preferential treatment from those in positions of power or gain advantage so recipient must reciprocate accordingly.

In contrast to Western culture, where self-concept is largely individualistic, in Vietnamese culture self-concept is much more interdependent – group membership conveys status and defines ones identity. Of course membership of groups also coveys’ status in Western society, but, in the main, we have placed the individual above the group in terms of our identity; especially in recent decades. Probably the group in Western culture that most closely matches the Vietnamese user of rhino horn is the sports team, where individual team members don’t stand up to challenge inappropriate behaviour from another team member (binge drinking, aggression, sexual violence etc.) for fear of rejection from their peers.

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More targeted demand reduction campaigns are needed to change the purchasing decisions of the users of genuine rhino horn driving the current rhino killing spree. Breaking The Brand is delighted to announce that our campaign, focusing on the primary users in Viet Nam, went live on the 15^th September 2014.

This was made possible because supporters from around the world have helped make it happen. Since launching the idea in February 2013, donations of goods and services and fundraising $2,000, via pozible.com, enabled Breaking The Brand to create a series of 6 adverts by January 2014. These adverts were created to target the two motivators to stop buying rhino horn the users expressed when interviewed, namely:

• If using negatively impacts my status
• If using negatively impacts my health or the health of my family/colleagues/friends

With your support Breaking The Brand raised $30,000 to place 19 adverts in three key business and the top selling women’s magazines; including 2 consecutive months in Heritage, the in-flight magazine of Viet Nam Airlines. [Read more…]

The South African government has around 16,437 kilograms of stockpiled rhino horn and a further 2,091 kilograms more is in private hands. In recent months the South African government has stepped up its pro-trade argument and undoubtedly there will be some private rhino owners who are pro-trade. Pro-trade requires the value of the horn to be maintained. Toxin infusion in to the horn is a devaluation strategy. Why would a government want a commodity devalued when it is pushing hard to legalise trade? Do you think this could be the reason the only rhino protection method which devalues the horn is being singled out for criticism? Well a lot of South Africans and people around the world seem to think so.

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The Breaking The Brand is delighted to let all our supporters know that our demand reduction campaign went live in Viet Nam 15^th September 2014.

Over the next 10 weeks, we are running 19 full and half page adverts in 5 magazines including 2 consecutive months in Heritage, The Vietnam Airlines magazine. Our first advert (shown below) is from a magazine called ‘Investment Bridge’. It is a weekly magazine targeted at businessmen and has a circulation of 65,000.

To our supporters around the world, thank you for helping the BTB team in Melbourne make this happen.

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South Africa is currently pushing a pro-trade agenda in rhino horn, in the hope of getting a trade legalisation decision at a CITES meeting to be held in South Africa in 2016. The stated objective is that only legalising trade will stop the poaching by driving down black market prices for rhino horn. This is being justified by claiming that all other anti-poaching and demand reduction measures must have failed since the poaching rate is still increasing.

©Jerm. Many thanks for use in BTB blog.

With a complex issue such as legalising the trade in a currently illegal wildlife product it pays to analyse the motivations of the various players involved, as the so-called ‘rational’ (economic) arguments put forward can be adjusted to fit favoured outcomes. Governments are adept at justifying political decisions with claims about positive outcomes. This is usually not much of a problem because these decisions rarely involve significant downside risk. The question of the legalisation of the trade in rhino horn is immensely complex AND involves a massive downsize risk – the risk of rhino extinction in the wild. Hence all arguments need to be examined in light of the true complexity of the problem and the size of the risk involved.

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An unborn rhino foetus removed from its dead and dehorned mother. In this poaching incident a wildlife ranger was also killed. It is not good enough for Vietnamese businessmen to try to disassociate themselves from this killing spree by saying “We don’t do the poaching, we only buy the horn”.

This destruction is carried out to fulfil their personal desire for status, bestowed through their ability to obtain a rare, expensive product – genuine rhino horn. It is common for the wealthy to feel the need to demonstrate their worth by the luxury goods they own, but there is a difference between buying Rolex watches and obtaining illegal wildlife products. The need to demonstrate status goes too far when it results in wiping out an iconic animal and in less than one generation. Just how anxious can these users of rhino horn be for the acceptance of their peers to shut out the devastating consequences of their actions?

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Of the series of adverts created for the pilot campaign one in particular has generated more comment than all the others put together:

In this advert we use the term “to medicate” and people feel that this may give the use of rhino horn legitimacy. As more campaigns are developed to target the consumers of a range of illegal or endangered wildlife product, we thought people may be interested in the psychology behind creating the advert in the way we have.

We do want to capture the attention of users who do consider rhino horn a medication/supplement; and to get the attention of these users we have been advised not to directly challenge a cultural belief. So if one person’s ‘cultural belief’ is another person’s ‘myth’, namely ‘rhino horn’s link to any medical value’ how do you debunk a myth?

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The people of Viet Nam like many countries throughout Asia have developed an interdependent self-concept vs. the independent self-concept more typical in Western cultures. As a result, it is much harder to set yourself apart from, challenge or put personal preferences before the norms of your group. To do so would cause a loss of face and would likely result in rejection by your peer group.

This is captured in a recent factsheet published by TRAFFIC which gives an example of a typical user of rhino horn in Viet Nam: http://awsassets.panda.org/downloads/viet_nam_consumers_factsheet.pdf

Mr. L a 48 year old property developer:

• He is focused on his social status and is therefore potentially vulnerable to outside influences
• He puts the good of his peer group above himself.
• Recommendations from his social/business circles are extremely influential
• Career, success, financial security, family preservation, social status and peer lifestyle are top priorities for him

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Richard Hargreaves’ update on the Lion Bone Trade from South Africa

24 April 2014

I recently read that the South African provincial records with regard to South Africa’s dead lion exports are a ‘complete shambles’. Based on the latest data now published for 2012 I’m inclined to agree….

DEAD LION EXPORTS FROM SOUTH AFRICA TO CHINA IN 2012

In December 2013 the South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs advised that South Africa exported the following dead lions to China in 2012:

36 trophies
15 bodies
2 skeletons

By contrast, South Africa’s ‘official’ CITES records now show dead lion exports to China in 2012 of:

21 trophies
1 skin
12 bodies

China’s ‘official’ CITES records for 2012 own up to 17 of these trophies but they also reveal import of a further 92 lion skins (93 in total) from South Africa in 2012 that neither the South African environment Minister nor South Africa’s permit officials were apparently aware of!?!

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The opportunity to present the Breaking The Band campaign to over 120 delegates at the 2014 Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA) Conference was exciting if a little daunting. The conference, hosted by Auckland Zoo, brought people together to share ideas and, to quote the ZAA Australasia President Karen Fifield, take stock of the conservation outcomes and sustainability initiatives occurring in the region and worldwide.

Certainly the conference confirmed that a lot of effort is focused on developing behaviour change initiatives. Often what is not realized by people in the conservation space is that they are asking “How can we get people to think and behave like us?”, which is not a helpful approach.

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