Throughout history many species of animals have been
threatened with extinction. Women Europeans first arrived in North America more
than 60 million buffalo roamed the continent. Yet hunting the buffalo was so
popular during the 19th century that by 1900 the animal’s population
had fallen to about 400 before the government stepped in to protect the
species. In some African countries today the elephant faces a similar challenge
as poachers kill the animals for the ivory in their tusks.
Yet not all animals with commercial value face this threat.
The cow for example. Is a value able source of food but no one worries that the
will soon be extinct. Indeed the great demand for beef seems to ensure that the
species will continue to thrive.
Why is the commercial value of ivory a threat to the
elephant while the commercial value of beef is a guardian of the cow? The
reason is that elephants are a common resource whereas cows are a private good.
Elephants roam freely without any owners. Each poacher has a strong incentive
to kill as many elephants as he can find. Because poachers are numerous each
poacher has only a slight incentive to preserve the elephant population. By
contrast cattle live on ranches that are privately owned. Each rancher makes
great effort to maintain the cattle population on his ranch because he reaps
the benefit of these efforts.
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