新的假犀牛角技術(shù)，可能會(huì)抑制偷獵者的市場

新的假犀牛角技術(shù)，可能會(huì)抑制偷獵者的市場

Scientists have invented a technique for constructing a fake rhino horn they hope will put a dent in the illegal horn market threatening the survival of the species.

科學(xué)家們發(fā)明了一種制造假犀牛角的技術(shù)，他們希望能在威脅犀牛生存的非法犀牛角市場上找到一個(gè)突破口。

Researchers at the University of Oxford and Fudan University in China have recently found a way to make fake rhino horns cheaply from horsehair, according to the BBC.

據(jù)英國廣播公司報(bào)道，牛津大學(xué)和中國復(fù)旦大學(xué)的研究人員，最近發(fā)現(xiàn)了一種用廉價(jià)馬毛制造假犀牛角的方法。

They’ve found a way to compress and fashion the horsehair in a way that feels similar to the real thing – even when the “horn” is cut.

他們已經(jīng)找到了一種壓縮馬毛并使其時(shí)尚化的方法，成品與真實(shí)的犀牛角很相似——甚至“牛角”在被割破的時(shí)候也是如此。

The project hopes to make an artificial horn that’s so realistic it would trick poachers. Their goal is to “flood the market” with fakes that would, in turn, decrease the value of actual horns, according to the outlet.

該項(xiàng)目希望制造一種非常逼真的人造角，騙過偷獵者。據(jù)報(bào)道，他們的目標(biāo)是用假犀牛角“充斥市場”，從而降低真犀牛角的價(jià)值。

Scientists say if the fakes can be produced cheaply, it would cut prices of the actual horns and reduce the monetary incentive for poaching the rhinos.

科學(xué)家們表示，如果能以低廉的成本生產(chǎn)假犀牛，就能降低真犀牛角的價(jià)格，并減少偷獵犀牛的金錢激勵(lì)。

“It appears from our investigation that it is rather easy as well as cheap to make a bio-inspired horn-like material that mimics the rhino’s extravagantly expensive tuft of nose hair,” Prof Fritz Vollrath, from the University of Oxford’s Department of Zoology told the BBC.

牛津大學(xué)動(dòng)物學(xué)系的弗里茨·沃爾拉思教授對BBC說：“從我們的調(diào)查來看，制作一種仿牛角的材料，既容易又便宜。”。

The Oxford team believes the fakes would help to “confuse the trade,” although some worry it could unintentionally increase the rhino horn market.

牛津研究小組認(rèn)為，這些假貨將有助于“混淆交易”，盡管一些人擔(dān)心這可能無意中增加犀牛角市場。

John Taylor, deputy director of Save the Rhino International, told the outlet the fake rhino horns entering the market would actually expand it and create even more demand for the horns, which he says could deplete their population even faster.

拯救犀牛國際的副總監(jiān)約翰·泰勒(John Taylor)告訴這家賣場，假犀牛角進(jìn)入市場實(shí)際上會(huì)擴(kuò)大市場，并對犀牛角產(chǎn)生更大的需求，他說這可能會(huì)更快地減少犀牛角的數(shù)量。

He believes the most important way to help the rhinos is to concentrate on anti-poaching methods and other ways to reduce the demand for consumers.

他認(rèn)為，幫助犀牛最重要的方法，是集中精力采取反偷獵和其他減少消費(fèi)者需求的方法。

“There is no substitute for anti-poaching measures at one end and reducing demand at the other,” he told the BBC.

他告訴BBC:“一頭是反偷獵措施，另一頭是減少需求，這是無可替代的。”