23/02/2011 - Thieves make off with rhino head
A valuable black rhino head has been stolen from an auction house, leading to worries it could be ground down and used as ingredients in black-market Chinese medicines.
The item was stolen from Sworders Auctioneers, of Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, after the firm posted details of the mounted object on the internet.
The theft has highlighted how important it is for businesses and private individuals alike to make sure they have property insurance.
The doors of the premises were forced open on Monday evening and it is thought the thieves then fled with the rhino head through a nearby field.
The object has a price tag in excess of £50,000, but experts said the rhino head could be of far greater value if it is sold to the traditional medicine market.
The horn of the rhino was traditionally used in Chinese medicines as a cure for a range of ailments from gout to fever and rheumatism. It is not prescribed as an aphrodisiac, contrary to a common misconception.
Trading of rhino horns was banned in 1976 by signatories of the Convention of the International Trade in Endangered Species.
But the practice continues on the black market, with antique items sold for inflated prices then shipped out of the UK. A clampdown on exports of rhino horns was announced by the Government last year.
Pc Andy Long, wildlife and environment crime officer, said: "This seems to be a targeted burglary, and the thieves knew that the rhino horn was there.
"It is a valuable item in its own right but if sold to the traditional medicine market, it would have a much greater value."
Copyright © Press Association 2011
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