Elle Macpherson & Rhino Horn: Supermodel Says Powdered Rhino Horn 'Does The Job'

Update: Commenter Chaling points out that Macpherson has already apologized for her comments, saying she has "never knowingly consumed or encouraged the use or consumption of any products which contain material derived from endangered species" and she regrets "any distress or offense that her banter with an interviewer might have caused."

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Elle Macpherson has told the Times Of London that she eats powdered rhinoceros horn:

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.

Some think rhino horn can reduce fever, detect poison and act as an aphrodisiac. However, according to preservation site Mongabay.com, "rhino horn has no curative properties." In fact, the rhino slowly dies after the horn is removed and four of its five species are endangered.

That, and it's pricey. Powdered rhino horn goes for $60,000 per kilo.

Comments

[acorus]

04:58 PM on 08/17/2010

am licensed chinese doctor for 18 years, and would like to inject a bit of fact here. yes rhino horn is a very warming substance and will elicit blood and qi flow in the lower jiao, ie below the navel, but so will a multiplicity of other un-endangered plants with equal or surpassed efficacy, and at much less cost: such as yin yang huo (epimedium or horny goat weed!) BUT... before you go heating yrself up, you should make sure that's exactly what yr body needs 'cause everyone's different, and there is no panacea aphrodisiac applicable to everyone's needs. warming substances can be very dangerous for yr health! i have never used any endangered species (whether plant or animal) for myself or my clients. there's simply no need to. please consult with well-trained and experienced herbalist/acupuncturist for further inquiry. thank you and goodnight.

[Bittancurt]

06:40 PM on 07/15/2010

Ella, It doesn't work unless it's still on the Rhino. Try it that way.

[IvyH]

12:28 PM on 07/13/2010

She might want to check on those exotic ingredients to see exactly what she's doing not only to her own body but to others' as well.

Ignorance isn't a reason - it's an excuse.

[sammyscout]

07:33 PM on 07/12/2010

forever shallow, zippy pinhead

[johnmartin]

01:26 AM on 07/12/2010

What a terrible person she is , how disgusting . I hope she is treated the same way by her random sex partners , as a worthless piece of meat.

[aligatorhardt]

12:33 AM on 07/09/2010

It is extreme ignorance to think you can gain powers from eating body parts of an animal. This is true cave man mentality. Sentencing for the killing of endangered species or trafficking in their parts should bring 20 years in jail. These animals will be gone forever. There should be no tolerance for this crime.

[LiberalEastTexan]

09:59 AM on 07/08/2010

>>saying she has "never knowingly consumed or encouraged the use or consumption of any products which contain material derived from endangered species"

Sure she has, we read about it in this article.

Who does she think she is fooling?

[LiberalDem]

09:59 AM on 07/08/2010

Another shining example of why one should not pay any attention to women whose careers are based solely on their good luck in the genetic lottery.

[Siren Song]

03:42 AM on 07/08/2010

Another hideously thoughtless celebrity. Alas, no danger of extinction for her type.

[blimie]

08:37 PM on 07/07/2010

terrible, shameful, not a decent human being. There are a million different natural products she could buy that did not involve the killing of an endangered animal.

[georgiegirl]

07:54 PM on 07/07/2010

So, what she is really saying is that she didn't know the rhino was endangered. The horn tastes a little like crushed bone and fungus in a capsule, she says. Another whiz kid!!!

[LaurieLee]

01:43 PM on 07/07/2010

The rhinos are poached for the horn, so they don't linger and die slowly, they are snared, and die a horrible medium-slow death, or are shot and die immediately.

South Africa used to remove the horns of the rhinos to prevent their being poached, but the tourists didn't want photos of hornless rhinos, so they stopped the practice. The rhinos that had been dehorned didn't die a slow, lingering death, so I'm not sure what that's about. Rhino poachers kill the animals before they get near them, they don't shoot a tranquilizer dart at them, cut the horn and run.

This summer we were again in Africa with our kids. Our guides in Kenya told us that the poaching had increased because of Chinese contractors who are building roads in East Africa paying enormous sums of money to impoverished native to poach rhinos and elephants. We hiked to see some white rhinos in the Masaai Mara. They were guarded by four men with machine guns at all times because the poaching was so bad.

Perhaps Elle would be in better health if she stopped her three pack a day (it keeps me thin!) cigarette habit. You'd have to be an idiot to not know that rhino horn came from poached animals.

[Nooneyouknow]

11:17 AM on 07/08/2010

China's penchant for traditional medicine and dishes is driving tigers, sharks, and rhinos to extinction, and do a quick search on HuffPo for a story about what the Chinese do to get bear bile.
I'm getting tired of certain Chinese practices.

[MarkDTN8]

11:16 AM on 07/07/2010

Embarrassed for her. Has she seen what happens to the animals? They're left to die a painful slow death. All so a handful of people can "feel pretty". What a waste of a life and what an affect it can have on the wildlife population. Glad she's been exposed, shallow celebs be warned, you're no longer able to hide so well any longer when you let stuff like this slip put. FAIL!

[Counterglow]

09:10 AM on 07/07/2010

What a shallow, disgusting woman. I wish her ill.

[Sam-mie]

08:17 AM on 07/07/2010

They should tie her down and cut her nose off. Shame on her! It is heartbreaking what they do to these poor animals for the almighty dollar.