Endangered Species Decline

Endangered species do not have enough protection from becoming extinct. The decline of any species is incredibly important. Despite there being many organizations and laws out there created to protect them, they are not getting all the protection they need and deserve. It is not just those living creatures that are being threatened, it is humans as well.

The ESA, also known as the Endangered Species Act, was created to protect species that are listed under the Red List as threatened. There is also the Lacey Act, which is meant to outlaw traffic illegal wildlife. Sadly, neither of these laws seem to be stopping the decline in the worlds population ("Wildlife Trafficking" 1).

Today, there are a total of 16,928 species threatened to become extinct ("Total Number of Known Threatened Species:16,928" 1). Since 1970, the population of all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish have dropped by half, 52% to be exact. But a lot of people don't seem to realize the existence of

The first reason would be trafficking, which was mentioned earlier under the Lacey Act. Many plants and animals are being trafficked around the world. Some of the reasons are: being kept as pets, experiments, some body parts being of value, etc ("Wildlife Trafficking" 1).

That being said, the body parts of these species have value and can be used for many purposes, whether it is decoration, or to be used in some type of production. One common way is poaching, which is basically for cooking. The usual victims of this are rattlesnakes and paddlefish eggs ("Wildlife Trafficking" 1).

Today's endangered species are also dwindling away due to their homes being altered and destroyed for human activities. Forests are being cleared by loggers to sell timber, and to create road networks. Homes are being destroyed because of humans wanting to expand and take up even more space for their own benefit ("Tigers"