with regard to "breaking fevers" and "anti-inflammatory " properties,
aspirin works and is cheap ( generic form is 1 to 2 cents per tablet,
or less). but I guess its a cultural thing.

and speaking of 'regulated', the story had a link to an older story
which noted that at one point H. midae was on the CITES list, but that
was reversed or undone a few years later. Getting  back on the CITES
list might add a little bit of enforcement? Easier said than done, I
am sure.

On 2/7/16, John Varner <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Kudos to those who have pointed out the quantity discrepancy between rhino
> horn and abalone in the price comparison.  But the article is about the
> commonality of smuggling various regulated species, and how criminal
> syndicates (including terrorists) are profiting.
>
> Also worth noting:
> Another major demand for rhino horn is for the hilts of custom-made daggers,
> known as Jimbaya, prized in a subset of Arab south Asian cultures,
> especially Yemen.
> Rhino horn IS NOT an aphrodisiac in Asian medicine, it is used in minute
> quantities as a febrifuge (breaks fevers) and anti-inflammatory agent, and
> it is replaced in modern herbal practice with the horn of the water buffalo,
> regarded as 10 times less potent, but much more affordable.
>
> - John
>
> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2016 16:55:08 +0000
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [CONCH-L] abalone rustlers.... overpriced or incorrect
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Maybe it was just worth more on that day or during that month.
>
> “Abalone poachers tend to be local fishers, but smuggling has ties into
> international syndicates trafficking in multiple species. Earlier this month
>  two men were arrested in
>  Namibia with a kilogram of rhino horn pieces and 100 kilograms of dried
> abalone. The abalone was valued at more than 2.5 times the value of the
> rhino horn.”
>
>
>
>
>
> From: Conchologists List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of John Timmerman
>
> Sent: Sunday, February 7, 2016 11:38 AM
>
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> Subject: Re: [CONCH-L] abalone rustlers.... overpriced or incorrect
>
>
>
> Read the Scientific American article carefully. They did not compare the
> relative value of abalone meat and rhino horn. They sighted the value of the
> abalone
>  alongside the rhino horn to illustrate the high value of the commodity in
> the black market and that smugglers are dealing in both.
>
>
> John Timmerman
>
>
>
> From: Conchologists List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of Jay R Cordeiro
>
> Sent: Sunday, February 7, 2016 11:26 AM
>
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> Subject: Re: [CONCH-L] abalone rustlers.... overpriced or incorrect
>
>
>
> A 2014 New York Times article
> http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/27/sports/in-hunt-for-red-abalone-divers-face-risks-and-poachers-face-the-law.html
>
> cited abalone prices at:
> $2000/lb San Francisco Chinatown apothecary
> $55/lb dried Chinese market
>
> Whereas rhino harn
> http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/may/17/rhino-horn-considered-cure-all-and-aphrodesiac-now/
> Is valued at $60,000 lb
>
> Looks like the Scientific American blog is off by a few decimal places.
> Jay Cordeiro
>
>  		 	   		
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