I'm all for using what amounts to military tactics against poachers, but that alone is probably not going to solve the problem - there is simply too much money

I'm all for using what amounts to military tactics against poachers, but that alone is probably not going to solve the problem - there is simply too much money to be made. It reminds me of the drug trade, really, and while with drugs we can mostly solve the problem through legalization, that's not really an option here. Which is why I think this article is somewhat misguided. There is only so much Africa can do, and that's even assuming plentiful resources and political will to do it, which might be a mistaken assumption. The demand problem needs to be solved, and only China can accomplish that. This article seems to be giving them a pass, and that's wrong. For example, I would like to know more about this "ivory spending spree" in Tanzania. Regardless of whether it was lower-level officials getting "out of control", what was the official response? Unless it was a harsh one, I'm afraid the question of whether they were following the orders of their superiors is not very relevant - the result will be the same either way, which is that ivory consumption by Chinese will be seen as socially, legally, and politically acceptable.