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A biotech startup has managed to 3 D print fake rhino horns.
These horns carry the same genetic fingerprint as the actual horn. The company plans to flood Chinese rhino horn market at 1/8 of the price of real horns, undercutting the price set by poachers and hopefully forcing them out eventually.
That would be awesome if it works.
Viagra had a similar program for tiger parts, since they do a much better job at fixing what tiger parts allegedly cure.
Two days ago in New York they had a major event where tons of elephant horns were crushed, making their ivory worthless.
...What was this meant to accomplish besides destroying some very pretty materials from animals that have already been killed?
And doesn't that just make it MORE lucrative to kill more elephants for their tusks? Less ivory means ivory is worth more.
Two days ago in New York they had a major event where tons of elephant horns were crushed, making their ivory worthless....What was this meant to accomplish besides destroying some very pretty materials from animals that have already been killed?
And doesn't that just make it MORE lucrative to kill more elephants for their tusks? Less ivory means ivory is worth more.
If you put it into the market you would just muddy the waters as to legal ivory and illegal ivory.
A biotech startup has managed to 3 D print fake rhino horns.
These horns carry the same genetic fingerprint as the actual horn. The company plans to flood Chinese rhino horn market at 1/8 of the price of real horns, undercutting the price set by poachers and hopefully forcing them out eventually.
If it works, it sounds like it will be an excellent solution to that problem.
If you put it into the market you would just muddy the waters as to legal ivory and illegal ivory.Two days ago in New York they had a major event where tons of elephant horns were crushed, making their ivory worthless....What was this meant to accomplish besides destroying some very pretty materials from animals that have already been killed?
And doesn't that just make it MORE lucrative to kill more elephants for their tusks? Less ivory means ivory is worth more.
The problem here being that both Rynjin and BNW have valid points. Though I am more inclined to favor Rynjin. Trying to fight market forces is usually an exercise in futility. Now, if those biotech guys could do for ivory what they're doing for rhino horn that would be the perfect solution. Unfortunately rhino horn and elephant ivory are different enough in composition that it might not work that well.
The only other alternative I could see being to put the park rangers in Africa in the business of tranqualizing elephants to harvest their ivory without hurting the animal. Unfortunately I'm reasonably sure that if that was a viable solution it probably would have been implemented before now.
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As long as there is a demand for the product, it will continue to be harvested.
Perhaps they should just poison the stuff and let it get sold, instead of burning it. Let enough sellers and buyers die from handling cyanide-soaked ivory (or ingesting cyanide-laced rhino powder), and eventually it might get a bit less popular.
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"I want to preserve life. Save the rhino!"
"...By murdering PEOPLE. People don't count as life, right?"
And even that extreme measure might not help. People don't care if the stuff they consume is potentially deadly as long as they get a perceived benefit. I'm looking at you, cigarettes! Longingly...
Russia exports about 60 tons of mammoth ivory a year.
No mammoths are ever injured in any manner while their ivory is harvested.
Russia exports about 60 tons of mammoth ivory a year.
No mammoths are ever injured in any manner while their ivory is harvested.
Have you noticed the lack of mammoths lately?
Since all forms of ivory involve the slaughter of animals on the endangered list, I don't think there is any legal form of ivory, at least not in the U.S.
Actually, ivory harvested prior to 1976 is generally legal to own in the United States, and it would be extremely difficult to change that while respecting the constitution.
The problem, of course, is that that simply encourages dealers to lie about the harvest date. "No, of course, this ivory statue of President Reagan was made in 1962. Want to see the certificate?" Hence the destruction of the illegally harvested ivory, so it won't find its way into commercial channels under forged paperwork.
Mammoth ivory is neither fossilized nor illegal in the US.
The only other alternative I could see being to put the park rangers in Africa in the business of tranqualizing elephants to harvest their ivory without hurting the animal. Unfortunately I'm reasonably sure that if that was a viable solution it probably would have been implemented before now.
Elephant tusks are modified teeth, so there isn't really anyway to ethically "harvest" it. On top of that, elephants use their tusks as tools in everything from digging for water to clearing brush. So they really need to be left in the elephant.
Finally, science has found out which end of the ancient creature, Hallucigenia is its head. Go science!
I think we should just send Batman to Africa to handle the poaching problem. I would pay to watch that live.
That IS pretty awesome. So we're relatively close to at least a partial cure for paralysis, AND fully functional prosthetics.
That IS pretty awesome. So we're relatively close to at least a partial cure for paralysis, AND fully functional prosthetics.
No reason to just work on one solution at a time....