The human race has a seemingly impossible challenge before them. While many focus on huge social issues such as terrorism and world hunger, which are completely valid and important issues, many have forgotten about the state of humanity’s neighbors within our very planet. Earth is in the midst of its sixth great extinction, keyed as the Holocene Extinction after the current epoch the planet is in. The Holocene Extinction, starting between 9,000 and 13,000 years ago, is the most recent since the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction, during which the dinosaurs were wiped out (Heymann, Chibante and Brooks). Such knowledge of our current ongoing mass extinction event is not well known among the common populace. The simple fact is that the human
Cameroon, Chad, Mozambique and Congo are the primary countries being affected in South Africa from these anonymous poachers. From the year of 2000 to 2013, the rate of poaching has elongated from 6 to 946 and standing alone in 2012, over 668 rhinoceroses were shot dead in account of the SADEA. Although the staggering rates on poaching of rhinos for their horns seem have caught the attention of millions of individuals across the world, many people fail to realize the significant impact it has on the environment, and so does the Professor of Political Science at the University of North Dakota, William Montgomery.
Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting and capturing of wild animals. Until the 20th century poaching mostly consisted of game and fish being taken by impoverished peasants. Over the years poaching has become a serious threat to wildlife in Africa. The Black Rhino, African Elephant, Lion, Mountain Gorilla, and Grevy’s Zebra. If any one species gets wiped out it will completely disrupt the food chain. The Black Rhino population has gone down 97.6 percent since the 1960’s and up to 35,000 elephants were killed last year. Poaching has put these beautiful animals in endangerment. Endangered animals are slaughtered for a single body part like tusks, pelts, or bones. These parts are sold illegally for large sums of money. At the rate these
The Elephant is something to marvel at there is no animal quite like them. Between its shear size (the largest terrestrial mammal alive today), the familiar emotions they share with humans such as mourning for their dead, or their unique features like their large trunks, tusks, and ears, there is nothing that compares. These are some reasons why this large beautiful animal should not be taken for granted in today’s society. Unfortunately they have been between the illegal poaching for ivory, human elephant conflict regarding land usage, and environmental factors; they have become endangered.
The illegal killing and trafficking of animal parts has long been a global concern. With trading at an estimated 6 billion dollars annually, poaching has become the world’s second most profitable crime activity behind illegal drug trade. In its prevalence, poaching has driven many species to the point of extinction.
Wildlife conservationists are constantly working to supervise the rivers, forest, and other natural resources of Africa in order to preserve and protect them through prudent management. In Kenya, laws against trophy hunting has assisted these conservationists in maintaining wildlife populations. However, park rangers face a huge battle against the illegal poaching of these rare trophy animals, such as lions and elephants. In Asia, the demand for ivory continues to surge, despite the long-time ban on its international trade. The demand is so high that the Tanzanian government has developed plans to construct a commercial highway through the Serengeti in order to more efficiently trade goods with Asia (“The Need for Serengeti Watch”). However, the highway will also provide a faster route to the coast for ivory smugglers. The controversy surrounding the highway and its positive or negative effects on the economy, Tanzania as a whole, and the Serengeti is countless. Despite the debate over its benefits and...
Natural predators assist in maintaining this delicate balance by killing on the weakest and sickest animals. However, hunters kill healthy animals who they can find to satisfy their different needs including killing animals as a form of game, trophy or the famous poaching of animals for tusks. The poaching of elephants and rhinos for tusks worldwide is believed to have increased the number of animals without tusks in Africa (Whitfield, 2003). In the last 40 years in Canada, hunting has resulted in bighorn horns of sheep to fall by 25% (Whitfield, 2003). In case hunting of animals, especially poaching continues globally, the number of animal species will decrease rapidly, resulting in extinction of specific species, such as the African rhinos and elephants. A report in Nature Magazine suggests that the decrease of animals may have an effect on the population’s genetics because the weakest animals will pass weak genes to their offspring causing an entire species to have defects. Therefore, it is better for hunters to let nature kill off the weak and sick animals for the preservation of the
The dynamic natural environment and abundant wildlife are the most prominent features of the African continent. Due to its wide variety of biomes ranging from tropical forests to arid deserts, Africa consists of bountiful wildlife diversity. However, because of environmentally harmful human interactions, the variety of biomes is shrinking to all-time lows, which causes wildlife to die out. These detrimental human interactions, particularly livestock overgrazing and desertification, occur partly because the native people who depend on the land for daily life do not realize the potential benefits of wildlife and the unsustainability of their current ways. Poaching for horns and other valuable animal parts has also contributed to the decreasing amount of species present in the wild. However, the methods for conserving the wildlife environment differ in how they address the issue of the dwindling wildlife populations. The conventional method of conservation created in the mold of the Convention Relative to the Preservation of Fauna and Flora in their Natural State (also known as the London Convention) involves the complete centralization of wildlife resources to the government. The newer, more effective method called the Sustainable Use Approach makes drastic changes to the London Convention principles by decentralizing ownership of wildlife and allowing small communities and villages to manage it themselves.
Elephants are an endangered species and they should not be killed for their ivory or they will become extinct. In the article The Poaching Problem the author writes” elephant populations have declined to dangerously low levels.” At the rate that poachers are killing these innocent animal the entire species of elephants will be extinct in the year 2030! That is only twenty five years, I know that does not seem like a long time but it is going to go by fast and every one will regret killing all those poor innocent gentle creatures. In case study 483 they author writes “ During the 1970s and 1980s elephant poaching had included about 1.3 million elephants killed for their tusks.” It is hard to distinguish between legal and illegal ivory so it is sold easily.
Do you ever look down at your ivory rings and cry? Do you ever cringe while playing your piano? Well you should. This ivory that you may cherish, comes from a murdered elephant. There is a chance your ivory may be “fair-trade” but only 5% of all ivory is (Reisner 82-83). Just last year, 25,000 elephants were killed for their ivory (Christy 54). Elephant Populations are decreasing drastically and there is a worry they will go extinct. By wearing your rings or playing your ivory piano you are not committing a crime, but you may be supporting illegal ivory trade. The one way to repay the elephants is to become educated on the topic unlike so many and know not to buy illegal ivory. Elephants need to be here to stay. Not only are they adorable but they also are an iconic species in Africa that the world cannot simply watch disappear. It is very important for the harmful ivory trade to be stopped. Ivory is used in many ways and the ivory trade created because of these uses has great repercussions which stun governments and freeze and confuse environmentalists.