London:
40-something supermodel Elle Macpherson has apparently been duped into thinking Rhino horn has medicinal benefits.
Is aging beauty Elle Macpherson ignorant, gullible, or just plain clueless?
In a recent Sunday Times interview by Mark Edmonds, the has-been supermodel outraged wildlife conservationists, activists, and concerned individuals when she casually mentioned that she takes powdered Rhino horn.
Apparently oblivious to the fact that four of the five Rhino species are teetering at the edge of extinction because of myths and superstitions about rhino horn, she noted that rhino horn tastes like "crushed bone and fungus" and it "does the job".
As scientific analysis has proven Rhino horn has no medicinal effect on humans, just what "job" does this woman think Rhino horn is "doing"?
'A lot of people say Chinese medicine is quackery'
Here is the infamous "exchange" between Edmonds and Macpherson:
Witter: You're said to be a great fan of Chinese medicine. What does powdered rhino horn taste like?
E MacP: A little bit like crushed bone and fungus in a capsule. Does the job though.
Witter: How do you know that it works? A lot of people say Chinese medicine is quackery.
E MacP: Put it this way, works for me.
Elle Macpherson is a beautiful woman - however, her beauty and her health have absolutely nothing to do with consuming rhino horn.
Another celebrity 'above the law'?
Selling or purchasing products that contain or claim to contain ingredients derived from endangered species is prohibited by CITES. It forbids import and export of rhino horn, tiger bone and their products, forbids selling, purchasing, transporting, carrying and mailing rhino horn, tiger bone and their products.
Perhaps, Elle Macpherson's next interview can be given from a cozy jail cell, which she can share with her rhino horn "capsule" supplier.
That would provide her with plenty of time to consider that myths about rhino horn as a "remedy" has resulted in the slaughter of tens of thousands of rhinos.
Or maybe she could do a year of community service helping rhino orphans at The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
At the very least, Macpherson should be fined - or required to make a public apology and, how about a million-dollar contribution to a worthy Rhino conservation organization?
Goodness knows if she can afford it.
Sadly, this looks like yet another case where the law apparently does not apply to celebrities.
Image courtesy-David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation