Saving the rhinos by shooting them

Published 8:47 pm Thursday, October 31, 2013

It certainly sounds counterproductive. Save the rhinos by shooting one. But the free market has proven to be the most effective protection for many endangered species and the environment as a whole.

One Dallas group is simply extending the principle to the endangered black rhinoceros.

“This fundraiser is the first of its kind for an endangered species and it’s going to generate a sum of money large enough to be enormously meaningful in Namibia’s fight to ensure the future of its black rhino populations,” Dallas Safari Club Executive Director Ben Carter said in a press release.

The group is auctioning off a chance to hunt a single black rhino inside Namibia’s Mangetti National Park. The auction is expected to raise as much as $1 million, enough to make a real difference in efforts to preserve the species (there are an estimated 5,000 left).

And it could work. That’s because good intentions paired with bad policies can be deadly to endangered species. Good policies — driven by capitalism — work to protect them far more effectively.

Frank Miniter of Forbes magazine went on a safari in Africa recently, to see how capitalism — more specifically, the commercialization of game preservation — has resulted in better protected herds of wild animals.

Free market capitalists are often called selfish, and indeed they are.

The thing is, we all are.

Free market capitalism is the only economic system that channels that selfishness into constructive behaviors.

Miniter cites the examples of several endangered species in Africa. They were saved by the big game-hunting DeBeers family of South Africa, which set up hunting preserves.

“The red hartebeest and black wildebeest, to name two species, were virtually extinct elsewhere in southern Africa in the mid-twentieth century,” Miniter says. “By trapping and transferring animals from this property — herds protected by the selfish self-interest of hunters — areas around southern Africa were able to begin new herds.”

Miniter quotes a professional hunter in Africa.

“People are worried about the African lion and I am too,” that hunter explains. “But right here is an example of how giving wild game a real value can save them. You’ll see kudu, giraffe, zebra, springbok and a lot more on this property. Leopard are even making a comeback here. All this game has been in good numbers for generations because hunters protected them and kept the land wild.”

The principle here is called the “tragedy of the commons.” When something belongs to everyone, it belongs to no one.

As Miniter says, “As he spoke I thought that if Adam Smith had known a thing about wildlife he could have written a whole chapter in that wordy book of his about how wild animals with a real commercial value are apt to be bred and spread over the land. When people realize it’s in their own self-interest to do so it’s much more likely to happen — altruism isn’t as trustworthy a friend as self-interest.”

So take aim. You’re doing the rhino a favor. Perhaps not that individual rhino specifically, but the species in general will benefit.