It's Terrible Idea Monday!

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So, rhinos are cool, and also pretty crazy endangered.  Poachers hunt them for their horn, which is sold on the black market for its medicinal and/or magical properties (Pro-tip: those 'properties'? You could get the same effect from chewing your fingernails; they're basically the same stuff).  So what does South Africa want to do to save the rhino? They want to legalize the rhino horn trade.

If that doesn't raise some red flags, it should.  The focus should be on eliminating the demand base, thereby driving the price down to nothing and ending the poaching, not feeding the market.  It's not worth getting shot by anti-poaching rangers if you're only going to get five bucks for a rhino horn. I feel that an educational campaign might do more good than legalizing the trade of horn. If the consumers knew that they're paying top dollar for the same stuff that's in horse hooves, perhaps they might think twice.  Or the price of horse hoof would skyrocket. Who knows.

So. Just thought I would share that little gem for Terrible Idea Monday.  Tune in tomorrow for a post on Squid Fishing in Puget Sound, it's sure to be an inky good time.



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