Did you know that rhinos and tigers are endangered due to traditional far eastern medicine? (
source)
"The illicit trade in the rhino horn for pharmacies has been responsible for the wholesale slaughter of rhinos. Indiscriminate poaching, now coming under control in Kenya, has resulted in all five of the world’s rhino species – black, white, Greater Asian, Sumatran and Javan – becoming critically endangered. Only 40 years ago there were more than 100,000 rhinos in the world: now there are around 10,000. The missing 90,000 have been lost partly because their horns could be crushed into a powder and added to a potion to treat impotency or loss of libido."
Now you have a reason to feel good about R and D funds going to Viagra instead of something for AIDS or diabetes:
"When Viagra, and later Cialis and Levitra were introduced, it was hoped that they would save the rhino, if not the tiger and its sought-after parts."
I had no idea, really, that erectile dysfunction and endangered species were so connected...well, not in this way.
