Chapter 78 Question 069

Why are whales on the verge of extinction, but chickens have no worries about reproduction? Almost every year, environmentalists take to the streets to denounce the international fishing industry as a threat to the survival of many large marine mammals.But as far as I know, no one has ever taken to the streets to protest and call on everyone to save the chickens.Why is this? Simply put, chickens have never been an endangered species.But this begs another question: Why are some species endangered and others not? The number of whales has plummeted because no one owns them.They cruise the high seas while several countries refuse to abide by international treaties protecting the whales.

Japanese and Norwegian whalers absolutely understand that their current practices threaten the survival of the whales and, in turn, their own livelihoods.But every whaler also knows that the whales that cannot be caught by themselves will eventually be caught by others.Therefore, whalers cannot benefit from self-limitation. Conversely, most chickens in the world are owned.If you kill one of your chickens today, you will have one less chicken tomorrow.If raising chickens is your means of livelihood, then you must have a strong incentive to balance the number of chickens you send to market with the number of new chickens you raise.

Both chickens and whales have economic value.People can enjoy secure ownership of chickens, but not whales.This fact explains why the former are thriving and the latter are on the verge of extinction.