RhiNo unveils new campaign via Three Wise Men; answers ‘What does a wildlife criminal look like?’

RhiNo is a campaign that is changing attitudes to the usage of rhino horn in Vietnam. The problem is dire: in 2007 17 rhinos were poached in Africa – in 2014 the number was 1216. Much of this is driven by the escalation in demand by wealthy Vietnamese.

The campaign is driven by Lynn Johnson, a human dynamo working unfunded and on her own. It aims not to create awareness, but to actually reduce demand. A new phase of the campaign is ready to go, created completely pro bono by Three Wise Men. Now it needs the funds to place the advertising, in Vietnamese, in publications in that country.

Generous-spirited readers of CB can contribute at http://www.pozible.com/project/198271.

Be assured that the money will go to a project that is really working. NGOs in Vietnam report a lot of chatter on social media about the campaign and there is evidence that users of rhino horn are being shamed into changing their behaviour.

Johnson’s campaign has been lauded by conservation veterans.

Says president of Safe African Rhino Foundation: “As a veteran of 28 years of the rhino wars I can spot a good tactic when I see one.  Reducing the demand is so obvious yet very few have attempted it.”

Says Wilderness Safaris, Cape Town: “Unlike many others, this is a culturally-appropriate media campaign that suits the market, not the sentiments of conservationists and thus is far more effective.”