Paper short abstract:

This paper describes the development and outcomes of a project concerned with creating novel ways of raising awareness of the plight of threatened Southern White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) and catalysing perceptual and behavioural changes in consumers of rhino horn products.

Paper long abstract:

South Africa’s populations of near threatened Southern White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) and critically endangered Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) have declined so dramatically as a result of poaching, that in 2012 the South African government declared a state of crisis. The conservation orientated project which will be presented in this session was funded by the National Geographic funding call, ‘Making the case for nature’. This specific call is aimed at overcoming the obstacles hampering communication of science that inspires public action, and supports projects which utilise the visual arts in creative and innovative ways to more effectively overcome apathy towards endangered species conservation. The resulting project 'Perceptions of Rhino Poaching' was primarily concerned with creating novel ways of raising awareness of the rhino poaching crisis in South Africa, and catalysing perceptual and behavioural change in consumers or potential consumers of rhino horn products. Environmental Humanities scholar Thom van Dooren's (2014) concept ‘storied mourning’ provided the theoretical underpinning for a film which was created as both a research artefact and a tool of scholarly activism. The film depicts aspects of the lives and deaths of individuals directly impacted by rhino poaching in ways which we hoped could encourage viewers to care about rhinos and as a result, lead to their eschewal of rhino horn products. In the session we will screen part of the film before discussing the responses of the different audiences (including consumers of rhino horn products) who have participated in pre- and post-screening surveys and interviews.