Militarisation of conservation (sometimes known as 'green militarisation') is an issue of growing international interest. Rhino horn is immensely valuable (in 2013 its value exceeded that of gold or cocaine), and its illegal trade has attracted widespread attention. Conservationists have declared a 'war' on poaching, with extensive military resources deployed to combat it. This sometimes includes operations which are referred to, particularly in the media, as 'shoot-to-kill'. These can be tantamount to extra-judicial killings. We scrutinise this issue using 'Just War' principles, to explore whether the 'war' on poaching meets the criteria expected of armed conflict. Our perspective suggests that it fails both ethical and pragmatic examination. This piece encourages conservation scientists, and the public, to consider which actions are justified in protecting wildlife, and how we should rethink conservation policy to achieve ethical, successful outcomes for both people and wildlife.

中文翻译：

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野生动物大战：绿色军事化与正义战争理论

保护的军事化（有时称为“绿色军事化”）是一个日益引起国际关注的问题。犀牛角非常有价值（2013年其价值超过了黄金或可卡因的价值），其非法贸易引起了广泛关注。环保主义者宣布了对盗猎的“战争”，并部署了广泛的军事资源来打击盗猎。有时这包括被称为“击杀”的操作，尤其是在媒体中。这些无异于法外处决。我们使用“正义战争”原则对这一问题进行审查，以探讨偷猎的“战争”是否符合武装冲突的预期标准。我们的观点表明，它在道德和务实方面都没有通过。这件作品鼓励环境保护学家和公众，