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Comment by taksintik | Hacker News Reader

So happy to see Yao using his influence for good. I think Chinese consumption of shark fin and ivory are more habits than desire. Habits can change through education.

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I'm not sure status symbols are as simple as "habits or desire". And that's what shark fins and ivory are to the chinese, much like caviar to westerners (and with similar consequences on providing creatures).

You might be able to fix "traditional medecine" issues (which China has in droves) using education, but status symbols acquisition is not about illiteracy or lack of education. You can only fix the problem through social shaming, by reversing those status and making them status of bad taste.

The article links to another article which suggests that the popularity of shark fin soup has been falling http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-china-victory-for-wil... supposedly partially thanks to Yao Ming's involvement.

Another factor besides habit and status: perhaps Chinese culture is simply more accepting of animal cruelty?

"Western culture" has very similar (and extant wrt sturgeons amongst others if mostly curbed when it comes to mammals) issues, Chinese weren't the ones slaughtering charismatic megafauna for fun and status symbols in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

News flash: every culture has barbaric ghosts in its past. It's what we do here and now that matters.

News flash: "western culture" is still dynamiting endangered sturgeons (and other roe-producing species passing their roe as caviar[0])

[0] https://medium.com/full-belly-reports/every-spring-game-ward...

Tiger's are another issue - a big reason for the decrease in India's tiger population is that the demand from China is so overwhelming; apparently a tiger's gonads are considered a valuable aphrodisiac. This kind of insanity has to stop before the animal is extinct.

The pangolin situation is much more dire (warning, may trigger sadness, furor and extreme misanthropy):

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/201...

http://www.popsci.com/article/science/pangolin-smuggling-sho...

http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2014/04/opinion/sutter-ch...

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/201...

Agreed. There are people doing good work in this area, but if we've learnt one lesson, its that the economic gravity tends to win out. In the drug war (not a perfect analogy by any means), as long as US consumer demand exists, people will find a way to provide it. In China, unless you can shape the underlying demand for poached materials in some form (and be more successful than the US has been on drugs), it's going to persist, especially as that country continues to grow richer.

I agree it is insanity, if i was Yao Ming, my PSA would go as follows.

Gentlemen, before going to the extremes of using tiger balls to get your Girlfriend, Wife or Xiao San in the mood... First try these proven western approaches.

- Put on a Sade album

- Give her a glass of rose wine

- light a candle beside the bed

- Tell her she looks pretty in that dress

- Give her a new Coach handbag

- Slip some Molly in her drink right before desert

Why may you ask... Lets say there are 3200 tigers in the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger) 50% are likely to be male leaving 1600 male tigers * 2 balls. That leaves roughly 3200 balls - not counting ones lost in childhood slingshot accidents.

Sadly, there soon will be no more balls to use ;( and you do not want to be left with "No Game."

Was it really necessary to throw in a rape joke?

Wasn't intended to be, but i can see how it would be taken that way. If tiger's balls are as powerful as the legend has it... would it be the equivalent?

Don't forget rhinoceros horns http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoceros#Horn_trade_and_use

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