Selling the tigers to Save it!
Dont be surprised if you find a tigress lazying around in your property on a calm and sunny afternoon - it is just the Chinese way of bringing wild life closer to the customer! Well, the story goes like this - Chinese government has lifted its 14 year ban on the sale of tiger parts. To make matters more interesting there is a 'talk' of rearing tigers for slaughter! Under the present craze for privatization, the breeding of tigers might just be the next big thing. Putting it in the financial terms - Tigers are legally saleable assets just like your Motoflip! They might be a status symbol couple of years down the line, u never know.
It is evident that the authorities havent lost touch with basic economics. When there is a mismatch between demand and supply i.e. the supply not meeting the demand, as is the case here, you either increase the supply or try to reduce the demand. The government till now has been trying to curb the demand by 'Save tiger' campaign - tiger being the national animal of India helped the cause.
The recent developements by the Chinese government is in the other extreme. The argument is that the increased availability of tiger parts will reduce the value (and hence profit) made by the poachers and will help in curbing the same. The argument is seriously flawed in two counts - (1) the demand for the product is presently low because of its exorbitant price. This situation is similar to the airline industry in India - the introduction of low cost carriers didnot reduce the demand but it catered to another segment who is price sensitive. (2) The cost of rearing a tiger, according to official estimates, is $40,000 whereas the cost of poaching a tiger is less than $50. Poaching is still a high return, high risk investment. In sophisticated language, this investment provides 'more of good for less of bad' - higher sharpe ratio, better option!
I belong to a genre who believes being a vegetarian just to follow some custom is a crime - equivalent to second degree murder. So, my objection to rearing of tigers for slaughter is not on 'humanitarian' grounds but on rational thought process! It is said that the rarity of an object/event increases its value. Lets protect the species the way they are - wild, majestic and extremely sexy - and not by breeding a lesser version of a cat... Oops, i mean tiger!
News Article Hindu Centerpage - 21 Feb 2007
It is evident that the authorities havent lost touch with basic economics. When there is a mismatch between demand and supply i.e. the supply not meeting the demand, as is the case here, you either increase the supply or try to reduce the demand. The government till now has been trying to curb the demand by 'Save tiger' campaign - tiger being the national animal of India helped the cause.
The recent developements by the Chinese government is in the other extreme. The argument is that the increased availability of tiger parts will reduce the value (and hence profit) made by the poachers and will help in curbing the same. The argument is seriously flawed in two counts - (1) the demand for the product is presently low because of its exorbitant price. This situation is similar to the airline industry in India - the introduction of low cost carriers didnot reduce the demand but it catered to another segment who is price sensitive. (2) The cost of rearing a tiger, according to official estimates, is $40,000 whereas the cost of poaching a tiger is less than $50. Poaching is still a high return, high risk investment. In sophisticated language, this investment provides 'more of good for less of bad' - higher sharpe ratio, better option!
I belong to a genre who believes being a vegetarian just to follow some custom is a crime - equivalent to second degree murder. So, my objection to rearing of tigers for slaughter is not on 'humanitarian' grounds but on rational thought process! It is said that the rarity of an object/event increases its value. Lets protect the species the way they are - wild, majestic and extremely sexy - and not by breeding a lesser version of a cat... Oops, i mean tiger!
News Article Hindu Centerpage - 21 Feb 2007
posted by Shaanvi at 9:00 PM
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