The Price of Hope—Insights into rhino horn consumption in health‐related contexts in Vietnam

• Published date: 01 December 2021
• Author: Hieu P. Nguyen,Hanh T. M. Nguyen,Huyen T. Pham
• Date: 01 December 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12342

SPECIAL ISSUE

The Price of Hope—Insights into rhino horn

consumption in health-related contexts in

Vietnam

Hieu P. Nguyen

1

| Hanh T. M. Nguyen

2

| Huyen T. Pham

3

1

Department of Marketing, College of

Business, California State University,

Long Beach, California

2

Product Development Department,

OneID Ltd, Hanoi, Vietnam

3

Department of Marketing, National

Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam

Correspondence

Hieu P. Nguyen, Department of

Marketing, College of Business,

California State University, Long Beach,

CA.

Email: hieu.nguyen@csulb.edu

Abstract

This study investigates the interplay between social,

cultural, and psychological factors that underlie

rhino horn consumption for health-related purposes

in Vietnam, one of the world's major markets for

rhino horn. Regarded as a panacea, rhino horn is

used by Vietnamese consumers to treat a vast array

of illnesses, including life-threatening ones such as

cancer, without any scientific evidence of its medici-

nal properties and effectiveness. Insatiable demand

by Vietnamese consumers has driven rhino horn

price to exceed that of gold. Using a qualitative

approach, we show the process through which Viet-

namese consumers form their beliefs and attitudes,

normalize and justify their usage of rhino horn. We

also demonstrate the roles that cultural and social

norms play in the consumption of rhino horn among

Vietnamese consumers. Drawing from these insights,

we recommend a multi-pronged approach for the

development of programs that aim to combat and

curb rhino horn purchase and consumption.

KEYWORDS

consumer well-being, rhino horn, wildlife trade

Received: 31 October 2019 Revised: 14 August 2020 Accepted: 31 October 2020

DOI: 10.1111/joca.12342

Copyright 2020 by The American Council on Consumer Interests

J Consum Aff. 2021;55:1249–1273. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/joca 1249

1|INTRODUCTION

Research suggests that the wildlife trade finances violent conflicts, contributes to national desta-

bilization, and impedes economic growth in source countries (Douglas and Alie, 2014). As early

as the 1970s, global efforts to combat wildlife trading came to fore with the creation of the Con-

vention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) which

regulates international trade covering over 35,000 species of plants and animals. Countries that

have voluntarily agreed to be bound by CITES adopt their own domestic legislation to imple-

ment CITES, however, such legislation is either non-existent or penalties are insufficient in

deterring wildlife traders. As a result, wildlife trading has become rampant on the black market

due to persistent demand for endangered species despite numerous efforts by non-profit organi-

zations and governments worldwide to curb consumption. It is estimated that the global value

of illegal wildlife trafficking is between US$7–23 billion each year (Nellemann et al., 2016).

Consumers purchase and consume wildlife for traditional medicine, culinary delicacy, love

charms, fashion, and decoration. Of the four endangered species in high demand (elephants,

tigers, pangolins, and rhinoceroses), rhino horn is mainly used as a health tonic and, increas-

ingly, a potential cure for terminal illnesses including cancer in Vietnam (WWF, 2015) and

fetches a more-expensive-than-gold astronomical price of up to $100,000 per kilogram

(Guilford, 2013). In a shocking act of extreme violence, poachers broke into a French zoo in

March 2017, killing a 4-year-old white rhino named Vince, one of the zoo's most popular attrac-

tions, and sawing off its horn (Willsher, 2017).

As a major market for rhino horn, Vietnamese consumers' purchase and consumption have

been classified into several categories based on usage and motivations including treatment of

terminal illnesses, prevention of illnesses, wellness enhancement, and gift giving (Huang, 2011;

Truong et al., 2016; Dang and Nielsen, 2018). However, the extant literature is more descriptive

than analytical, and little is understood of the interplay between psychological, social, and cul-

tural forces that underlie rhino horn consumption. The research reported here attempts to

bridge this gap through a qualitative study of Vietnamese rhino horn consumers to answer the

following research questions: (1) What are the sources of information underlying consumers'

persistent beliefs about rhino horn's medicinal properties? (2) What are the roles of reference

groups in rhino horn consumption? (3) What are the motivations driving consumption? And

(4) What roles do cultural and social norms play in consumption?

The study is organized as follows: first we review the extant wildlife consumption and

health behavior literatures. Next, we describe the research design, followed by a presentation of

the findings discussed in relation to the literatures. Finally, we provide implications for inter-

vention and public education campaigns aimed at curbing the illegal trading and consumption

of endangered species, including rhino horn.

2|LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 |Food and health-related wildlife consumption and its impact

While research has indicated that bushmeat contributes up to 90% of total protein consumption

in some regions in Africa (Abotsi et al., 2016), much of the wildlife trade, trafficking and con-

sumption is to satisfy consumers' cultural and culinary tastes as well as medicinal usage

(McElwee, 2012; Xie, 2015; Abotsi et al., 2016), driven by wealth and not poverty (Duffy, 2010).

1250 NGUYEN ET AL.