Last year thieves broke into a Scottish stately home and stole only one thing: a rhino horn trophy, which at 1.5 meters was the longest in the world. Meanwhile, in China, pharmaceutical factories have been building up (1)___________ of antiques made from rhino horn, for the sole purpose of smashing them to powder to make the (2)___________ ingredient of many of their medicines. And in Zimbabwe, 34 poachers died in 1990 in the search for the black rhino. Recently, conservationists met to ...

Last year thieves broke into a Scottish stately home and stole only one thing: a rhino horn trophy, which at 1.5 meters was the longest in the world. Meanwhile, in China, pharmaceutical factories have been building up (1)___________ of antiques made from rhino horn, for the sole purpose of smashing them to powder to make the (2)___________ ingredient of many of their medicines. And in Zimbabwe, 34 poachers died in 1990 in the search for the black rhino.

Recently, conservationists met to (3)___________a campaign to persuade countries where rhino horn is still part of the traditional medicine to switch to substitutes. The biggest threat to the survival of the rhinoceros is the refusal of certain countries to enforce a ban on domestic trading in rhino horn.

The rhino horn is included in many doses for disorders raging from fevers to nosebleeds. Horn, like fingernails, is made of keratin and has no proven medicinal (4)___________. Traditional substitutes, such as horn from buffalo or antelope, are regarded as second best.

The battle is thought to be winnable. But it may be harder than the battle against the trade in ivory, for there is a (5)___________between the two commodities. Ivory is a luxury; rhino horn, people believe, could save the life of their child.

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