Pseudoscience

Legal Exotic Animal Parts available at your closest Thunder Dome.

This one aspect of my culture that I'm not proud of¦actually, I'm quite ashamed of it. It's a culture that has persisted through the ages and it has to stop, NOW! Word gets passed down from generations of Asian apothecaries and consumers about the uses and applications of various exotic animal parts and plants. It really doesn't matter whether the shit works or not, but it's the perception that it's working that matters. Treating ailments or boosting one's mental psyche is in the mind and the body. If you can believe it there's a good chance your body is going to react.

Even with all their proud "brainpower", I can't think of a culture more ignorant and eager to exploit natural resources - globally. I would imagine that there would be enough scientific knowledge to have already figured out the active ingredients in the various animal parts. Sheetz, why not just clone the animal and use the organs. Nope, we get simple fucking excuses like "it's just not the same when it's not natural" or "there's no other substitute." My response is "just put the tiger penis soup down asshole and take a Viagra, you limp-dick muthafucka!" Education and raising awareness is one way to curb the persistence of this problem, but we need to get further into the roots.

Exploitation of exotic animals has been going on in Asia, and the surrounding landmass that does not require oceanic travel, for decades and longer - let's not talk about the bison. It's the present rate of consumption that is particularly troubling. Although there have been measures taken to prevent animal poaching at national reserves and forests, there is a persistent culture of "bribes" if you would. I'm not just talking shit. Anyone who spends an extended time in Asia knows what I'm talking about. This is a lucrative business, and in the world today, the gap between the rich and poor is ever growing, like the population. The natural course of action of anyone is to survive. As population increases, competition invariably increases as well. However, it is not just the increase in poor people, but industries such as logging and power supply, which provide them with minimal wage jobs and brings them out into the remaining pristine countryside. The poor workers are naturally going to subsidize their livelihood off the land. The last concern they have is the effect of their actions on the local/global environment. Side note " the migratory geese and ducks that have become residents here in Atlantic coast states don't stand a chance in that culture. With the depletion of natural habitats into small pockets, it's not too difficult for poachers to determine where to take advantage of the porous park ranger coverage. Getting a tiger, elephant or bear can be like hitting the Powerball lottery. So, that's the supply side in a small nut shell.

The demand for animal parts by apothecaries and consumers is the part that makes me want to vomit. I'm down with herbal and alternative medicines, but I can't fathom how people can put the exorbitant amount of money down on something like bear paws and gall bladder, or rhino horn powder. WTF!¦will that endow me with the abilities of the animal that I had just consumed? Am I going to transform all Manimal-style? If it was all like that, I would transform and maul those muthafuckas out there fronting the cash.

This problem has finally gotten some attention here as some news reporters have been busy looking for stories other than the political shitstorm slowly moving across the northern hemisphere. Virginia has been experiencing an increase in black bear poaching, and they are going after the Korean community. Guess what? It's not just the Koreans. It's anyone who can make a profit, and it's a huge profit because the demand is still there. Hopefully, we can have more success in tracking and shutting down the buyers here than other nations around the world " that's the least I could hope for because I know there are others out there fighting much harder than I am on this issue.

I realize that I've just been ranting about animals, but there's a case to be made about plants " such as certain ginseng species - that grow only in limited areas. The potency of the plant increases with age, and they are often harvested way too early without insurance of future propagation of the plant. But you know what, wild animals are much better for my new Thunder Dome idea where we pit a human buyer with an animal " no weapons, just fists/feet vs. claw/claw/bite. Winner takes whatever choice organs.