One of the most distasteful practices that some cultures indulge in is the poaching of endangered species

in order to use their rare body parts in some kind of nonsense ritual alternative medicine, miracle cure.

Such is the case with rhino horn. Only this particular use, originally by a certain Asian culture,

might not be nearly so ancient as you might think. That's coming right up on Skeptoid.

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Rhino horn, cure or curse.

Today we're heading into South Africa where grim-faced game-rangers ride in their land cruisers clutching Vector R4 assault rifles.

They're on the hunt for poachers who are somewhere in the brush illegally killing rhinos at the rate of more than three a day.

Poaching is by far the most profitable industry in the nation by each of several metrics.

What could drive people to want rhino horns so badly they'll kill for them?

It's a subject that's rife with misinformation including most likely a lot of what you think you know about it.

This global demand for rhino horn was brought into stark focus in March of 2017 when a crime was committed that shocked everyone as it was as horrible as it was unexpected.

...