

Legalizing Ivory Trade: Taking to New Heights a Dangerous Policy Proposal - adamnemecek
http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2014/10/22/legalizing-ivory-trade-taking-to-new-heights-a-dangerous-policy-proposal/

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tzs
I have a quite different proposal. I may or may not be serious about this--I
have not yet decided. Countries with problems with poachers taking elephants
from game preserves should do this:

1\. Legitimate parties entering the preserves must register and receive a GPS
tracking device which reports their position in real time to the park
management.

2\. Sell poacher licenses to hunters. By "poacher license", I do not mean a
license to poach. I mean a license to hunt poachers.

3\. A hunter with a poacher license must call in any targets they are
considering to the park management, which will check their position against
the legitimate parties on the preserve, so that the hunters can be sure they
are not targeting researchers, tourists, hunters of non-protected animals, and
so on.

4\. Once confirmed as not legitimately in the park, the hunters may treat the
poachers as if they were any other game animal and kill them and take
trophies. If they are going to kill them, they must do so promptly. They
cannot capture them and abuse them first. We are not trying to be inhumane
here.

5\. Poacher licenses should be expensive, with the cost going to help the
animals. I would be surprised if there were not plenty of wealthy people who
would pay millions for a license.

6\. Hunting poachers is at your own risk. Man is the deadliest animal.

Of course, there might be unintended consequences. For instance, if someone
has the disposable income to buy a poacher license, they would be a good
kidnapping target. A kidnap gang might pose as poachers to try to lure poacher
hunters for kidnapping.

Probably too many problems with international treaties and other legal issues
to actually do this. It could make an interesting setting for a movie or a TV
series, though.

