Honest question from someone who knows virtually nothing about chemistry or material science: is there a difference in quality between synthetic and natural ivory? If not, why is poaching even still a viable market?
How is this ironic? Most cultures have prized animal products throughout recorded history, and many have practiced sacrifices, which is literally the killing of the being.
>"Situational irony: The disparity of intention and result; when the result of an action is contrary to the desired or expected effect."
In this specific case, the intention of extracting animal products caused the animals to be killed, which is not contrary to the expected effect (unfortunate as it may be).
Now lets imagine the elephants actually provide a long distant benefit to humans, butterfly effect style. Maybe their migration involves knocking over some dormant trees with their tusks, which they're known to do, that would then knock over seeds for new trees. This would aid in the containment of soil and prevent soil erosion.
Instead, consider they're all gone, the trees all die off without seeding, then windstorms etc turn more land into desert.
Ironically those same hunters now have less land to grow food from. Thus less fortune, the action to bring more fortune has resulted in less.
This is a stretch of an example using just 1 animal, but whats more confusing is why it needed to be defined through the purview of defining ironic.
Edit: As mentioned this is 1 example, but there are an uncountable scenarios of 'medicinal' practices that require the 'rarest' animal components to 'work' from. Point is, its all superstition and it contributes far too much.
Plus, there are people out there who sincerely believe that Ivory works as an ingredient in medicine and they will seek it out.
But a lot of people want to/need-to "signal themselves".
Which reminds me, I'm not sure why cops don't try to move fake ivory into black markets, have sting operations where once they catch a dealer, instead of arresting them, force them to sell their fake ivory, undercut the market enough that poachers have incentive.
Probably China isn't that concerned about the problem.
You don't need natural imperfections.
Synthetic ivory is ivory.
Multiplication is a bitch.