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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Re: Can we genetically modify cows to make ivory?
« on: 14/10/2015 16:19:21 »
I don't think the it would make any difference. You would have a hard time producing elephant size tusks on any animal smaller then a elephant anyway. I See no reason why elephants must be killed to harvest ivory anyway. We cut the tusks of domesticated elephants and they don't die. Also there is not much chemical difference between your toe nail clippings and a rhino's horn yet in many asian countries they believe rhino horn has some medical or dietary benefit worth killing rhinos to get it. So producing another source of ivory is not going to stop people from wanting elephant ivory. And why is domestic breeding of cattle for meat, leather and other byproducts better then managing a elephant herd for the same? We seem to have double standards toward one animal vs another most cultural. For example in the US horse meat is taboo but commonly eaten throughout the world. Even though we hardly have no monopoly on rising horses for sport and companionship we just draw the line on eating flicka.
I take a different view then most on this i think as I see no deference in the practice of saving a forrest with well planed management and harvest of forrest products. and managing other natural resources. It is counter productive if you want elephant ivory to be available in the future to kill all the elephants now instead of simply managing a sustainable level of elephants and harvesting a few to maintain the population within what the area of land the herd is on can support. Really if alone their population would grow until animals died from starvation as there is not a unlimited amount of suitable elephant habitat. AND you also have to take into account growing human populations that compete for that same land. I do not see any wild animals surviving in the wild without direct human intervention to preserve areas and then manage the populations in those areas. As we create unnatural limitations for those populations because coexistence of human civilizations and many species of animal are simply not possible. No one wants lions living in their back yard when the only pray left around is you or your livestock. because you took over the area that once supported the lions food source to grow crops and graze livestock. by the same token no one wants elephants eating and trampling your crops ether. And this is only going to get worse as drought (from climate change or not) and growing population will lead to need for More food production which means a need for more management of wildlife areas or they will be sacrificed for food production. I know many wildlife protection advocates will condemn me for this view but sorry I put a greater value on Human life then animals. So if the animal is useful to humans we will find a way to make sure they survive. If that value is simply esthetic for us to see them living in the wild so be it. But just because there are no bars and cages a wildlife refuge is just a open free range zoo with limited boundaries and limited available habitat. sooner or later we will be faced with population control. And if any one species becomes over dominate we must intervene to preserve diversity and health populations. To believe we can stop progress and preserve wildlife habitats as they were for ever is naive.
I take a different view then most on this i think as I see no deference in the practice of saving a forrest with well planed management and harvest of forrest products. and managing other natural resources. It is counter productive if you want elephant ivory to be available in the future to kill all the elephants now instead of simply managing a sustainable level of elephants and harvesting a few to maintain the population within what the area of land the herd is on can support. Really if alone their population would grow until animals died from starvation as there is not a unlimited amount of suitable elephant habitat. AND you also have to take into account growing human populations that compete for that same land. I do not see any wild animals surviving in the wild without direct human intervention to preserve areas and then manage the populations in those areas. As we create unnatural limitations for those populations because coexistence of human civilizations and many species of animal are simply not possible. No one wants lions living in their back yard when the only pray left around is you or your livestock. because you took over the area that once supported the lions food source to grow crops and graze livestock. by the same token no one wants elephants eating and trampling your crops ether. And this is only going to get worse as drought (from climate change or not) and growing population will lead to need for More food production which means a need for more management of wildlife areas or they will be sacrificed for food production. I know many wildlife protection advocates will condemn me for this view but sorry I put a greater value on Human life then animals. So if the animal is useful to humans we will find a way to make sure they survive. If that value is simply esthetic for us to see them living in the wild so be it. But just because there are no bars and cages a wildlife refuge is just a open free range zoo with limited boundaries and limited available habitat. sooner or later we will be faced with population control. And if any one species becomes over dominate we must intervene to preserve diversity and health populations. To believe we can stop progress and preserve wildlife habitats as they were for ever is naive.