
The Price of Protecting Rhinos - pseudolus
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/01/war-rhino-poaching/604801/
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pjc50
It's a nasty problem. Ultimately those responsible are those consuming rhino
horn; they're paying for poachers to murder rangers and render a species
extinct.

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vbtemp
Interesting how people ascribe responsibility in different ways to thigs.
Ultimately, those responsible are those killing the animals, thereby providing
supply to a market for it.

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blacksmith_tb
It might be useful to talk about proximate and ultimate causes in that
case[1]. Yes, the poacher pulls the trigger, but if the horn wasn't worth
anything it, that wouldn't have happened.

1:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proximate_and_ultimate_causati...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proximate_and_ultimate_causation)

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Avalaxy
I read recently that there is a plan to flood China with artificial 'rhino
horn'. This could destroy the market for real horns and probably clear out the
problem pretty easily. [0]

The other problem, corruption, is harder to tackle. At least in Cambodia, the
average wage of a ranger is around $100 per month (and sometimes as low as $30
per month due to budget cuts). When a poacher approaches a ranger and offers
$2000 to let them through, it's quite easy to accept that and make 2 years
salary in just 1 day. [1]

[0] [https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/08/world/fake-rhino-horn-
int...](https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/08/world/fake-rhino-horn-intl-scli-
scn/index.html)

[1]
[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/mar/27/ranger-c...](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/mar/27/ranger-
corruption-impeding-fight-poaching)

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alexilliamson
That's an interesting strategy that I wouldn't have consider it. Do you know
of any goods/markets where proliferating fake products has killed demand?

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fredophile
I don't think they need to actually kill demand. If supply increases enough
that the price plummets then acquiring and importing real rhino horn may not
be profitable enough for poachers to take the risks.

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laichzeit0
Make rhino horn legal so we can breed them and sell the horns. It would be a
lucrative industry, like cannabis. Right now rhinos are high risk animals and
no one wants to breed them and keep them on their game farms. There’s
literally no incentive to do this.

