South Africa's private sector is vital to rhino conservation yet there is a lack of research into the attitudes of current and potential rhino owners towards rhino conservation and horn trade. We surveyed 169 members of the South African private wildlife ranching industry to examine these matters. We sought to understand: (1) ranchers’ motivations for owning or not owning rhinos, (2) how rhino ownership affects ranchers’ income and operations, and (3) the attitudes of wildlife industry members towards legalization of global rhino horn trade. Our findings indicate that all respondents recognize the risks of rhino ownership and tend to distrust national and provincial environmental departments. In addition to these concerns, rhino owners have substantial monthly security and management expenditures. We found positive attitudes overall towards global rhino horn trade. Rhino owners strongly agreed that legalization would benefit rhino owners and rhino conservation. Documenting the realities of private rhino ownership and the opinions of the wildlife industry is important for policy design and for informed debate about the legalization of the rhino horn trade.

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犀牛的所有权和对南非私营野生动物部门全球犀牛角贸易合法化的态度

南非的私营部门对犀牛保护至关重要，但目前和潜在的犀牛所有者对犀牛保护和犀角贸易的态度缺乏研究。我们调查了南非私人野生动物放牧业的 169 名成员来研究这些问题。我们试图了解：（1）牧场主拥有或不拥有犀牛的动机，（2）犀牛所有权如何影响牧场主的收入和经营，以及（3）野生动物产业成员对全球犀牛角贸易合法化的态度。我们的调查结果表明，所有受访者都认识到犀牛所有权的风险，并倾向于不信任国家和省级环境部门。除了这些担忧之外，犀牛主人每月还有大量的安全和管理支出。我们发现对全球犀牛角贸易总体持积极态度。犀牛所有者强烈同意合法化将有利于犀牛所有者和犀牛保护。记录私人犀牛所有权的现实和野生动物产业的意见对于政策设计和关于犀牛角贸易合法化的知情辩论非常重要。