Consumer Demand for Rhino Horn in Vietnam: insights from a choice experiment

The international demand for endangered animal and plant species as traditional medicine, luxury foods and curios is strong and rising, especially in eastern Asia. The illegal poaching of wildlife to supply this market represents an immediate and growing threat to the survival of many endangered species. To counter the illegal international wildlife trade, the global community remains committed to supply-side trade restrictions and enforcement of poaching laws. However, despite these actions recovery in the populations of many species is being threatened by rising poaching rates over the last 10 years. In this paper, we use a choice experiment undertaken with over 800 residents of Vietnam, in order to investigate how the demand for rhino horn varies according to its source attributes. The survey sample includes 130 respondents who reported having either purchased or used rhino horn medicinal products in the past 5 years and a further 345 who expressed some interest in purchasing rhino horn medicinal products in the future. In particular, we estimate willingness to pay for horn that differs according to source (farmed, semi-wild, farmed) harvesting method (lethal and non-lethal), rarity of the rhino species and price. We also compare preferences elicited in the context of illegal trade in rhino horn, compared to legalised trade, and how consumer preferences vary according to socio-economic variables such as income. We find that preferences are significantly influenced by source and harvesting method and income level, with non-lethal harvesting and wild sourced horn generally preferred especially by the richest consumers, who are also the consumers most likely to have previously bought horn products. Under a legal trade demand would fall for all horn types and consumer groups.