Let's make tigers a cash crop

On the brink of extinction, tigers need man as never before

Tigers are on their way out, existence-wise. I don't know how their eventual extinction in the wild can be avoided unless truly drastic steps are undertaken. So here's a "modest proposal". Google that phrase up if you don't know the spirit in which I'm offering this.

The modest proposal: breed tigers in captivity and then sell their parts for the medicine trade in China. I.e., harvest them.

Why? Because they are being mercilessly poached in the wild, for their parts, to put into ancient medicine recipes. While the UGH factor of that is high, it doesn't seem to be stoppable right now. So what I propose is breed them, sell the parts, and use the profits to fund anti-poaching efforts to protect the wild populations.

If that seems cruel, yes, it probably is. But is it any more cruel than to let this noble and distinctive species get barbarically poached into extinction as we watch?

Hey, this worked for the American bison. Now there are bison farms, with plenty of animals, that are routinely harvested to make bison burgers. And there are also reserves and national parks, such as Yellowstone and Custer State Park in South Dakota, where there are thriving wild herds, which have to be culled so that they won't overwhelm the ecosystem. (I don't know if they cull in Yellowstone, but they definitely do in Custer.)

So I think that logically this is a good proposal. Have we truly come to the point where it is necessary and thus immodest? We might be close.