Warnings that museums are seen as easy targets for gangs looking to steal rhino horns have been highlighted by an attempted daytime rhino head theft at Norwich Castle.
The value of rhino horn has soared in recent years, fuelled by demand from Asia, where it is used in traditional medicines as a cure for cancer.
This has led to a rise in the poaching of rhinos in the wild and from zoos. There have also been more than 20 thefts of rhino horns from museums and auction houses across Europe in the past year.
Marc Granville, a member of the UK Border Agency crime team, said that as zoos and safari parks ramp up security, museums present a “soft touch” for criminals and “raiding a museum for a horn is a cheaper and easier option than going on safari”.
But Vernon Rapley, head of security and visitor services at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, said most museums had good security measures, and had responded well to the threat of theft by removing horns from displays.
Merseyside Maritime Museum is displaying replica rather than real rhino horns in its Seized! The Border and Customs Uncovered gallery.
The value of rhino horn has soared in recent years, fuelled by demand from Asia, where it is used in traditional medicines as a cure for cancer.
This has led to a rise in the poaching of rhinos in the wild and from zoos. There have also been more than 20 thefts of rhino horns from museums and auction houses across Europe in the past year.
Marc Granville, a member of the UK Border Agency crime team, said that as zoos and safari parks ramp up security, museums present a “soft touch” for criminals and “raiding a museum for a horn is a cheaper and easier option than going on safari”.
But Vernon Rapley, head of security and visitor services at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, said most museums had good security measures, and had responded well to the threat of theft by removing horns from displays.
Merseyside Maritime Museum is displaying replica rather than real rhino horns in its Seized! The Border and Customs Uncovered gallery.
