Fluid interfaces between flows of rhino horn

Banner image courtesy of Born Free Foundation

Interesting paper by Annette Hübschle* published 26 July 2017:

“Fluid interfaces between flows of rhino horn,” GLOBAL CRIME, 2017
VOL. 18, NO. 3, 198–217

To really understand the incumbent, underlying blurring of ‘legal’ and illicit flows of rhino horn (“The existence of legal, grey and illegal flows out of South Africa“) then this report is a must read. Only then, after confronting the realities, can the rhino’s dilemma be adequately addressed. More ‘legal’ trade is not the answer:

“As it stands now, South Africa lacks the conservation management and law enforcement systems to manage domestic trade without corruption playing a role or domestic and foreign illicit trade systems penetrating it” – page 210, “Fluid interfaces between flows of rhino horn,” GLOBAL CRIME, 2017, VOL. 18, NO. 3, 198 – 217

* Annette Hübschle is a senior researcher and postdoctoral fellow with the Institute for Safety Governance and Criminology at the University of Cape Town (UCT). Annette holds a PhD in Economic Sociology from the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy and the University of Cologne and a Masters of Philosophy in Criminology from the University of Cape Town. Her research focuses on the governance of safety and security with a specific focus on illegal wildlife economies and environmental futures, as well as the interface between licit and illicit economies, and environmental and social justice. Before joining UCT, Annette was a doctoral researcher in the Illegal Markets research group at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Germany. In the past, Annette worked as a senior researcher for the former Cape Town office of the Institute for Security Studies, a pan-African applied policy institute. She led and conducted research into organized crime and terrorism in Africa. Annette has worked as a researcher, consultant, and practitioner on a variety of organized crime, environmental security and broader African security issues. She also acts as a senior research advisor to the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.