Short film calls for end to rhino horn use

Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV) released its latest short film entitled “When Rhinos Lose Their Face, Consumers Lose Face Too”.

The Public Service Announcement (PSA) emphasises how respect is earned through honorable acts, not by trying to impress others with rhino horn.

In the comedic film, the protagonist is a young, ambitious businessman on his way to an important meeting. Immediately, the audience is drawn to him, a respectable person who helps strangers through acts of kindness.

However, while his good deeds are well-intentioned, he is motivated by a futuristic app that gives him a point for each good deed. As he tries desperately to earn more and more points, he eventually makes a fatal flaw rooted in ignorance, and shamefully presents a rhino horn to a business partner.

Demand for rhino horn in Vietnam is driven by a false belief that it will benefit social status, said Nguyen Phuong Dung, ENV Vice Director and Head of Public Awareness.

“Those who buy rhino horn for honor or gifts must soon realise that respect is not earned through superficial animal products, but rather by living life through moral and ethical actions,” she added.

Vietnam is one of the biggest consumers of rhino horn in the world. The illegal trafficking, trade, and possession of rhino horn continues to be a headache for wildlife conservation.

During the period between January 2020 and March 2021, the ENV recorded 99 violations related to rhino horn with 194,69 kg of horn confiscated by competent agencies. Eleven traffickers were arrested in such cases, four of whom have been prosecuted and received sentences ranging from 6 to 12.5 years in prison.

This is the ENV’s 47th PSA that aims to put an end to demand for wildlife and encourage public reports of wildlife crime to the organisation’s Wildlife Crime Hotline.

The amount of daily reports to the hotline more than doubled, from 4.7 wildlife crime cases a day in 2019 to nearly 10 a day in 2020.