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I've posted about a similar issue before:
If Alice likes to bring a sandwich to work and keep it in the office fridge, but finds that Mallory continues to steal it despite polite requests, begging, and threats from Alice, is Alice justified in poisoning the sandwich?

But in this case, we're talking about rhino horns.

Thoughts on this?
Is this ethical? Unethical but necessary?

I'm all for this idea.

As long as the rhino isn't harmed, I support this. It really shouldn't affect the way the rhino operates its daily life, such as going to the watering hole, dipping its horn in, and thus poisoning the water. But I guess since it's inside the horn it really won't matter.

Whatever. Rhino > Humans.

sure, why not? It's not vastly different from what was done with Metho.

Techno wrote:As long as the rhino isn't harmed, I support this.

Seconded.

(Was Alice trying to send the sandwich to Bob? Via the fridge?)

I'd like to support this but I can't. Is a rhino's life worth a human's? I'm thoroughly against the use of these sorts of ingredients in traditional medicine, naturally, but does someone really deserve to die for consuming it? This is proper eco-terrorism stuff, really.

Death is already a penalty for breaking the law in many places. In Africa, actually, death is the penalty for just about everything. Poaching of rhino horns should be no different.

I have to agree with ortsz here. Whoever ends up buying the horn almost certainly isn't going to be aware of the danger, and could end up serving it to a sick child or something. I, for one, am not a fan of poisoning children. I can see where the idea is coming from, though. Certainly seems to be few really effective anti-poaching strategies in such places. However, I'm not even sure how good a deterrent this would be. Like the article said, not all of the horns are intended for the medicinal black market. Even if they were, I doubt the people running such operations will care if they kill some customers. I don't think the world will run out of superstitious peasants any time soon.

maestro should be banned.

SłappyMcGee wrote:maestro should be banned.

It's all Kablizzy's fault.

Contrary to popular belief, Tsukatu and I are, in fact, the same person. Carry on.

SłappyMcGee wrote:maestro should be banned.

Man, what the fuck. It took me ten minutes to notice the penis.

docomo wrote:I'd like to support this but I can't. Is a rhino's life worth a human's? I'm thoroughly against the use of these sorts of ingredients in traditional medicine, naturally, but does someone really deserve to die for consuming it? This is proper eco-terrorism stuff, really.

xVxCrushloaderusSupremusxVx wrote:I have to agree with ortsz here. Whoever ends up buying the horn almost certainly isn't going to be aware of the danger, and could end up serving it to a sick child or something. I, for one, am not a fan of poisoning children. I can see where the idea is coming from, though. Certainly seems to be few really effective anti-poaching strategies in such places. However, I'm not even sure how good a deterrent this would be. Like the article said, not all of the horns are intended for the medicinal black market. Even if they were, I doubt the people running such operations will care if they kill some customers. I don't think the world will run out of superstitious peasants any time soon.

The rhino horn is specifically a popular ingredient in Traditional Chinese Medicines for enhancing sex drive. Rhino horns are also very expensive on the black market due to their rarity; rest assured that any parents who get a hold of a medicine with rhino horn in it are not going to give it to their children.

I found this article on Reddit, and the comment I liked the most is that we need this information to be spread far and wide, whether or not it's true and whether or not the rhinos' horns ever end up getting poisoned, because the sorts of people who believe garbage about rhino horns enhancing your sex drive are just as likely to believe what they read in the paper about rhino horns being poisoned, and the result will hopefully be a massive decline in the interest in rhino horns.
I also like what PZ Myers said about this: we should start spreading rumors about the practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine, since they have the most access to the stuff, are using these libido-enhancing drugs all the time, and therefore the most potent drugs can actually be made out of their genitals.

T̷s͢uk̕a͡t͜ư wrote:we should start spreading rumors about the practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine, since they have the most access to the stuff, are using these libido-enhancing drugs all the time, and therefore the most potent drugs can actually be made out of their genitals.

Don't think it works quite like that, but we can certainly try.

T̷s͢uk̕a͡t͜ư wrote:

docomo wrote:I'd like to support this but I can't. Is a rhino's life worth a human's? I'm thoroughly against the use of these sorts of ingredients in traditional medicine, naturally, but does someone really deserve to die for consuming it? This is proper eco-terrorism stuff, really.

xVxCrushloaderusSupremusxVx wrote:I have to agree with ortsz here. Whoever ends up buying the horn almost certainly isn't going to be aware of the danger, and could end up serving it to a sick child or something. I, for one, am not a fan of poisoning children. I can see where the idea is coming from, though. Certainly seems to be few really effective anti-poaching strategies in such places. However, I'm not even sure how good a deterrent this would be. Like the article said, not all of the horns are intended for the medicinal black market. Even if they were, I doubt the people running such operations will care if they kill some customers. I don't think the world will run out of superstitious peasants any time soon.

The rhino horn is specifically a popular ingredient in Traditional Chinese Medicines for enhancing sex drive. Rhino horns are also very expensive on the black market due to their rarity; rest assured that any parents who get a hold of a medicine with rhino horn in it are not going to give it to their children.

I found this article on Reddit, and the comment I liked the most is that we need this information to be spread far and wide, whether or not it's true and whether or not the rhinos' horns ever end up getting poisoned, because the sorts of people who believe garbage about rhino horns enhancing your sex drive are just as likely to believe what they read in the paper about rhino horns being poisoned, and the result will hopefully be a massive decline in the interest in rhino horns.
I also like what PZ Myers said about this: we should start spreading rumors about the practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine, since they have the most access to the stuff, are using these libido-enhancing drugs all the time, and therefore the most potent drugs can actually be made out of their genitals.

Fair enough. That still doesn't help any with regards to the rhino horn dagger holders. In fact, I think it's possible demand could increase slightly if people started hearing that they could have a genuine rhino horn dagger holder plus hidden deadly poison. I see your point, though. It could do some good. I'm undecided.

T̷s͢uk̕a͡t͜ư wrote: The rhino horn is specifically a popular ingredient in Traditional Chinese Medicines for enhancing sex drive. Rhino horns are also very expensive on the black market due to their rarity; rest assured that any parents who get a hold of a medicine with rhino horn in it are not going to give it to their children.

Obviously, we just need to start handing out GHB pills in Africa until the overall sex drive reaches an acceptable level. I think we're all missing the real problem here: Africans just aren't horny enough. There's a libido crisis in Africa, and here we are talking about rhinos.

docomo wrote:(Was Alice trying to send the sandwich to Bob? Via the fridge?)

I'd like to support this but I can't. Is a rhino's life worth a human's? I'm thoroughly against the use of these sorts of ingredients in traditional medicine, naturally, but does someone really deserve to die for consuming it? This is proper eco-terrorism stuff, really.

What if it were the last rhino ever, ever, ever, ever? Is the only member of a species worth the life of a single human?

Kablizzy wrote:

docomo wrote:(Was Alice trying to send the sandwich to Bob? Via the fridge?)

I'd like to support this but I can't. Is a rhino's life worth a human's? I'm thoroughly against the use of these sorts of ingredients in traditional medicine, naturally, but does someone really deserve to die for consuming it? This is proper eco-terrorism stuff, really.

What if it were the last rhino ever, ever, ever, ever? Is the only member of a species worth the life of a single human?

Well no, not if it was THE last one. Maybe if there were two, but not one. If there's no chance at reproducing, it's a lost cause.

Kablizzy wrote:

docomo wrote:(Was Alice trying to send the sandwich to Bob? Via the fridge?)

I'd like to support this but I can't. Is a rhino's life worth a human's? I'm thoroughly against the use of these sorts of ingredients in traditional medicine, naturally, but does someone really deserve to die for consuming it? This is proper eco-terrorism stuff, really.

What if it were the last rhino ever, ever, ever, ever? Is the only member of a species worth the life of a single human?

Not unless it's, like, Hitler versus a unicorn.

docomo wrote:

Kablizzy wrote:

docomo wrote:(Was Alice trying to send the sandwich to Bob? Via the fridge?)

I'd like to support this but I can't. Is a rhino's life worth a human's? I'm thoroughly against the use of these sorts of ingredients in traditional medicine, naturally, but does someone really deserve to die for consuming it? This is proper eco-terrorism stuff, really.

What if it were the last rhino ever, ever, ever, ever? Is the only member of a species worth the life of a single human?

Not unless it's, like, Hitler versus a unicorn.

Weird.

docomo wrote:

Kablizzy wrote:

docomo wrote:(Was Alice trying to send the sandwich to Bob? Via the fridge?)

I'd like to support this but I can't. Is a rhino's life worth a human's? I'm thoroughly against the use of these sorts of ingredients in traditional medicine, naturally, but does someone really deserve to die for consuming it? This is proper eco-terrorism stuff, really.

What if it were the last rhino ever, ever, ever, ever? Is the only member of a species worth the life of a single human?

Not unless it's, like, Hitler versus a unicorn.

Rhinos are actually probably the closest animal to unicorns that I can think of.

scythe wrote: Rhinos are actually probably the closest animal to unicorns that I can think of.

I side toward narwhals.

Blackson wrote:

Kablizzy wrote:

docomo wrote:(Was Alice trying to send the sandwich to Bob? Via the fridge?)

I'd like to support this but I can't. Is a rhino's life worth a human's? I'm thoroughly against the use of these sorts of ingredients in traditional medicine, naturally, but does someone really deserve to die for consuming it? This is proper eco-terrorism stuff, really.

What if it were the last rhino ever, ever, ever, ever? Is the only member of a species worth the life of a single human?

Well no, not if it was THE last one. Maybe if there were two, but not one. If there's no chance at reproducing, it's a lost cause.

But then there wouldn't be enough genetic diversity between the rhinos! There are such things as bottleneck periods, but they never get so severe as to leave only two of the species left.


I am unsure where I stand on the unicorn debate.

I think that poisoning the horns to make the person very ill would be the best compromise. Obviously, some people still might die of it, but y'now. Collateral damage.