# Why are rhinos and tigers being hunted for "traditional medicines"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 10, 2019, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-rhinos-and-tigers-being-hunted-for-traditional-medicines/839969 "2019-09-10T06:35:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GreenHell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@GreenHell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenHell)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2019, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-rhinos-and-tigers-being-hunted-for-traditional-medicines/839969/1 "2019-09-10T06:35:15Z")
Rhino horn, tiger penis, etc. etc. . . . we’ve all heard about how virility can allegedly be restored via various body parts of these endangered species. But, why do people hunt them for this? If you are already willing to be a poacher and smuggler, why not save yourself the effort and just sell powdered bovine horn as rhino or some similar slaughterhouse offal as big cats’ junk? While this is obviously fraud, it seems reporting would be low, among a customer base attempting to support felony poaching and smuggling. Even if they are reported, certainly the penalties for this kind of fraud would be lighter than those for the aforementioned crimes of “legitimate” purveyors of such goods. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2019, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-rhinos-and-tigers-being-hunted-for-traditional-medicines/839969/2 "2019-09-10T07:20:19Z")
IIRC it’s not for “traditional medicines”, rhino horns and other rare animal parts are actually being sold to Vietnamese millionaires because there’s some weird rumor there that they can be used to cure cancer. Hence why they’re so expensive, because people dying of cancer are willing to pay the extra high fees required to both get that animal and also confirm it’s the real thing. Otherwise if it was just being used for penis pills whoever is grinding up the horns wouldn’t care if it was a real horn or not since the cost-margin is so low. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2019, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-rhinos-and-tigers-being-hunted-for-traditional-medicines/839969/3 "2019-09-10T07:37:33Z")
The people who buy this shit from poachers don’t buy powder, they buy whole horns. And they know what actual tiger dick looks like. And it’s a mistake to think those middlemen are just in it for the money. Many of them actually believe the same shit as their eventual clients. And the actual penalties for defrauding the criminal syndicates who run these kinds of operations would not be _lighter_ than legal penalties. This shit is serious money, and also heavily tied to the drugs trade. You think those are guys into “lighter” penalties? ---
**Author:** ![GreenHell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@GreenHell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenHell)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2019, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-rhinos-and-tigers-being-hunted-for-traditional-medicines/839969/4 "2019-09-10T10:00:15Z")
Right, I didn’t even think about the criminal syndicates that would retaliate. On one hand, why wouldn’t they just defraud the buyers, but I figure there aren’t a lot of Triads that are oncologists, so they probably do think that they are curing cancer or something. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2019, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-rhinos-and-tigers-being-hunted-for-traditional-medicines/839969/5 "2019-09-10T13:57:36Z")
It’s something of a myth that rhino horn is used as a natural Viagra > **[The Hard Truth about the Rhino Horn "Aphrodisiac" Market](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-hard-truth-about-the-rhino-horn-aphrodisiac-market/)** > > Media coverage hyping the supposed use of rhino horn to pump up sex drive does no favors for conservation efforts In fact > [@](#): > > The Vietnamese black market exemplifies how “urban myth and dubious hype” can encourage demand for rhino horn products—as both medicinal and status-boosting luxury products—the TRAFFIC report says. Black market dealers have also pushed the idea—supposedly sparked by local media gossip—that rhino horn can cure cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Popular Vietnamese Web sites mix unproved medical claims with luxury sales pitches. Slogans compare rhino horn with “a luxury car,” tout its ability to “improve concentration and cure hangovers,” and trumpet “rhino horn with wine is the alcoholic drink of millionaires.” ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2019, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-rhinos-and-tigers-being-hunted-for-traditional-medicines/839969/6 "2019-09-10T14:11:04Z")
I see Vietnam mentioned twice above but not China. For the record, Vietnam is an enabler - the biggest market is \*\* China \*\* for these products. Cite : [Despite Ban, Rhino Horn Flooding Black Markets Across China](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/07/wildlife-watch-rhino-horn-china/) > [@](#): > > It has generally been thought that Vietnam is the main market for rhino horn, although little has been known about the traffickers and their links to countries of origin and transit. Until now, that is. > > The EAL report confirms that much of the horn winds up in Asia—but that China, not Vietnam, is the black market behemoth. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2019, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-rhinos-and-tigers-being-hunted-for-traditional-medicines/839969/7 "2019-09-10T18:03:54Z")
Yemen was also a big market, but not for medicine. They traditionally used it for dagger handles. I imagine a lot of that trade has fallen away due to the war.