Friday, February 19, 2010

News flash: NY Times editorial writer on the side of the angels

How do we assure the survival of endangered species? (i) Place them in preserves and police these places? (ii) Persuade people not to hunt or poach them? (iii) Farm them and let markets provide incentives for breeding and preservation? What if the setting is among relatively poor people and where law enforcement is sketchy? An editorial in today's NY Times ("China's Tiger Farms") is squarely on the side of the angels and wants Chinese authorities to "find a way to alter consumers' tastes". Trouble is we may run out of tigers long before Chinese authorities "find a way".