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This is good, but I feel like it's solving the problem from the wrong angle. The best way to reduce poaching is to reduce the demand. I know there are ongoing

This is good, but I feel like it's solving the problem from the wrong angle. The best way to reduce poaching is to reduce the demand. I know there are ongoing efforts to do exactly that, but it's a hard problem and obviously hasn't had 100% success so far. I think the next best way to reduce poaching, though, is to meet the demand with a legal supply. License and regulate farms for the black rhino and any other animal that is a frequent victim of poaching. Obviously this is also hard, but it better aligns incentives. The farmers are, of course, going to care more about their animals than the wild ones, but they would also have a profit motive to reduce poaching of wild ones (because it will reduce their competition).

bdamm 6y ago
Farming rhinos sounds great but this is one of those ideas with a maybe an unobtanium answer. I'd like to see a "farm" strong enough to contain a single rhino let alone an entire herd, and one that is profitable. The answer is to go after poaching at all angles possible; supply, demand, funding, trade, advertising, etc. Also illegal is elephant poaching, and we're not about to start farming elephants.
- true_religion 6y ago
  Dig a pit and place the Rhino inside. Rhinos are strong, but they are terrible climbers.
- nfriedly 6y ago
  That's a fair point, but it brings a few thoughts to mind: 1. What about putting a GPS tracker or similar on each animal and just let it roam. I'm not sure, but maybe it could work. 2. Zoo's can profitably contain Rhino's and Elephants. My local zoo lets people pay the zoo to feed some of the animals! So maybe a tourism angle could help move the needle on profitability. 3. What if it was a government-run operation with out the need to be profitable? Current anti-poaching operations don't bring in any profit, so maybe this angle of attack doesn't need to either.
- adrianmonk 6y ago
  > "farm" strong enough to contain a single rhino let alone an entire herd One thought is to use a cattle grid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_grid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_grid These are very common for regular livestock when there needs to be a gap in the fence for a road. But if a fence can't contain rhinos, it might be possible to use cattle grid for the entire perimeter. Do cattle grids work for rhinos? According to "The Cattle Grid Guru" (which bills itself as "The most extensive cattle grid guide on the web"), the answer is yes: https://www.cattlegridguru.co.uk/can-cattle-grids-be-used-with-animals-other-than-cattle/ https://www.cattlegridguru.co.uk/can-cattle-grids-be-used-wi...
andrewflnr 6y ago
True globally, but if you're just a guy who happens to own a company making electric motorcycles, why not do what you can? (While also getting some PR, no reason to pretend that's not a factor)

bdamm 6y ago

Farming rhinos sounds great but this is one of those ideas with a maybe an unobtanium answer. I'd like to see a "farm" strong enough to contain a single rhino let alone an entire herd, and one that is profitable. The answer is to go after poaching at all angles possible; supply, demand, funding, trade, advertising, etc. Also illegal is elephant poaching, and we're not about to start farming elephants.

true_religion 6y ago
Dig a pit and place the Rhino inside. Rhinos are strong, but they are terrible climbers.
nfriedly 6y ago
That's a fair point, but it brings a few thoughts to mind: 1. What about putting a GPS tracker or similar on each animal and just let it roam. I'm not sure, but maybe it could work. 2. Zoo's can profitably contain Rhino's and Elephants. My local zoo lets people pay the zoo to feed some of the animals! So maybe a tourism angle could help move the needle on profitability. 3. What if it was a government-run operation with out the need to be profitable? Current anti-poaching operations don't bring in any profit, so maybe this angle of attack doesn't need to either.
adrianmonk 6y ago
> "farm" strong enough to contain a single rhino let alone an entire herd One thought is to use a cattle grid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_grid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_grid These are very common for regular livestock when there needs to be a gap in the fence for a road. But if a fence can't contain rhinos, it might be possible to use cattle grid for the entire perimeter. Do cattle grids work for rhinos? According to "The Cattle Grid Guru" (which bills itself as "The most extensive cattle grid guide on the web"), the answer is yes: https://www.cattlegridguru.co.uk/can-cattle-grids-be-used-with-animals-other-than-cattle/ https://www.cattlegridguru.co.uk/can-cattle-grids-be-used-wi...

andrewflnr 6y ago

True globally, but if you're just a guy who happens to own a company making electric motorcycles, why not do what you can? (While also getting some PR, no reason to pretend that's not a factor)