Sacred Rhino: Relational Models, Moral Mechanisms, and a Social Theory of Conservation and Poaching Control

Abstract

This paper presents a social theory of conservation and the control of poaching. After a literature review tracing major themes in conservation literature emphasizing state capacity, individual preference, and mediating communities, I summarize contemporary research into wildlife value orientations and individual decisions whether to poach or not poach. Relational model theory can explain this decision through the sacred value protection model and moral responses to taboo trade-off reasoning. I synthesize this literature into a social theory for the control of poaching as an alternative to conventional explanations regarding state capacity and economic incentives. I conclude with a research design to investigate observable implications in conservation outcomes involving rhinoceros poaching.