China has changed its mind about rhinos… again

By Felicity Duncan

Two weeks ago, China announced that it would be relaxing its ban on the trade of rhino horn and tiger bones. Environmentalists and humans who like sharing the planet with animals greeted the announcement with dismay. Even with the ban, China is the world's largest market for endangered species' body parts.

Happily, on Monday, China reversed that decision and said it would temporarily reinstate the ban. While temporary, the reinstatement is good news. It suggests that China is not immune to global pressure from environmentalists and, perhaps, not completely closed off to the idea that protecting endangered species is a good idea. For the sake of the few rhinos still living in the wild, let's hope this is just the first step to real Chinese efforts to end the trade in rhino horn, which has never been shown to have any medicinal properties (because it is essentially a fingernail).

___STEADY_PAYWALL___