Grabbing rhino issues by the horns, Professor Adam Hart discusses the rhino trade in a series of public lectures at the University of Gloucestershire

They’ve been chewing the cud for more than 14 million years. But the rhino’s animal magnetism is proving a fatal attraction, with the species facing an uncertain future.

And on the eve of this year’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), Professor Adam Hart will be discussing the pros and cons of the rhino trade at the first in the new season of public lectures at the University of Gloucestershire.

Adam, Professor of Science Communication at the university, will be presenting Rhino: What does the future hold? on September 21st at the Park campus in Cheltenham.

As well as making documentaries for the BBC he is also involved with large scale citizen science projects including the Flying Ant survey with the Royal Society of Biology.

Developing ideas presented in his BBC Radio 4 documentary, The Horns of a Dilemma, he will explore the threats to rhino and the pros and cons of the controversial proposal to legalise the horn trade.

“Rhino are one of the most charismatic large animals and one of Africa’s iconic Big Five,” he said. “They are currently facing an onslaught of poaching driven by a thriving but illegal trade fuelled by a set of beliefs about the properties of their horn. Poaching has reached crisis point and many have called for a legalised trade in horn. Swaziland has put forward a proposal to legalise this trade that will be considered at the CITES conference later in September. But could legalising trade really reduce poaching? And what else could be done?”

The event starts with refreshments at 5pm, and the lecture is from 6pm until 7pm. The public lecture is free but tickets must be booked in advance.

Order tickets here