Thought: Tiger
On the eve of Chinese Tiger New Year, New York Times has an article about tiger farms in China. The author, Mr. Andrew Jacobs, highlighted that the Chinese appetite for tiger parts are the biggest thread to the largest predator in Asia, and the government’s support for the farm is fueling the market.
It is already difficult to stop Chinese from smoking (the leading cause of death, more than environmental caused cancer) due to the social environment. It is probably harder to erase their demand for something related to health, unless their cultural identities are changed. It reminds me the human organ market, originating from Israel.
The video link provided in the article is in Chinese. It argues that the farms are helping preserve tigers, incurring a cost of millions of dollars a year for feeding 1500 in the largest farm in Guilin. After more than 18 years in operation, it seeks economic sustainability by tapping tigers from natural death (aging and fighting).
It seems to me that might be reasonable, but transparency and supervision are required. I also need to think through the numbers to see if it makes sense.
