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 …show more content…
Governments across the globe must work together as an international coalition to stop poaching and illegal trade of endangered animals worldwide.
Long past are the days when poaching was simply commoners hunting on owned property. Poaching is now one of the biggest causes of modern extinction. Today’s poaching does not only consist of animal poaching alone. Modern poaching includes the standard killing or theft of endangered animals as well as supplying exotic bird markets, illegal fishing or over-fishing, illegal harvesting of timber and exotic plants, and acquiring laboratory animals for Western pharmaceutical companies (Lemieux and Clarke). Hunting in itself is not inherently an evil thing, as many rural communities survive off of hunted meats and other “bush meat”. In ancient Eastern Asia, hunting was a lifestyle that was sustained by local communities that did not have economies reliant on mass trade. The aboriginal people would hunt largely for personal consumption, both for meat and use of body parts of all of their prey for various medicinal
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CITES, or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is an international agreement between governments to ensure international trade of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of those species. According to its website, it was first conceived in 1973 and “accords varying degrees of protection to more than 35,000 species of animals and plants, whether they are traded as live specimens, fur coats or dried herbs.” Nature reserves and parks in Asia are not performing satisfactory in their protection of the animals within their grounds. With inadequately patrolled borders, poachers and other criminals sneak in and lay out trap lines and hunt in the only places where these animals are thought to be protected. Hidden away from the outside world, these parks are emptying of their most important residents. Locations in between countries that may have laws specific to poaching are ripe with crime. These so called “border towns” are empty of law enforcement or regulators of any sort. Here, sellers and buyers of endangered products are free to go about their business with no fear of consequence. In the year 2003, 581 leopard skins and 31 tiger skins were seized on the China–Nepal border (Nijman and Shepherd). Even what laws are in place are not enough to deter these
“By the time we’re done, it’s quite possible that there will be among the great apes not a single representative left, except, that is, for us,” Kolbert deduces (225). Hunting a species has caused the endangerment and extinction of many species of animals and plants. Six out of eight species of the world’s bears are categorized as “vulnerable” or “endangered” to extinct (222). Advocating for rights of endangered species, and protecting the forests they habitat is a noteworthy method to prevent extinction caused by humans. As an individual, one could help by supporting and donating to organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund, the National Wildlife Federation, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and more (262). Humans may ease their conscience by not actively killing endangered species, but protecting them
The exotic pet trade is a booming industry, raking in millions of dollars every year. Everything from harmless leopard geckos to hyenas can be found in 30 of the 50 states. Of those 30 states, only 21 require permits to own these animals (Webber 2010). Indiana has just recently withdrawn its own requirement for permits, making 10 states that allow any kind of exotics without documentation (Kelly 2015). It is estimated that 15,000 big cats are being kept as pets in the United States alone, with more captive tigers in Texas than there are in India. Approximately 15,000 primates and 7.3 million reptiles are also being kept in the US (Webber 2010). What does all of this mean and, more importantly, what can be done about it?
First, poaching is a huge game being played. It hurts the animals or species that are being targeted, which causes them to increase their chances of extinction. Orietta C. Estrada, an animal and environmental writer, explains that poaching "is a crime fueled by a lucrative black market trade of animal parts"(onegreenplanet). To these people, it is all about the money. They do not bother to think about how much pain this creature may feel. The only thing they desire to obtain is the big dollars. The animals that are affected by this monstrous act are elephants, tigers, rhinoceros, Tibetan antelopes, gorillas, and great apes(animalpoachers.weebly). The most they have done with dealing with the poachers is give them a cruel punishment for being caught. It does not work because it still happens today and the animals are still dying and becoming
“Many airlines now ban shipments of African “Big Five wildlife trophies. Celebrities around the world, as well as the media, are condemning the illegal killing of animals for sport. The United Nations has also spoken out in a historic resolution on wildlife trafficking by the U.N. General Assembly that “strongly encouraged governments to commit to targeted actions to eradicate supply, transit and demand for illegal wildlife products” (Source 4). Countries, media, and celebrities are now discouraging the illegal killing of large game and urges the governments of many countries to enact laws to stop the black market distribution of these predators. It is important to prohibit illegal trophies and to enforce these laws with punishments and fines to remove species from the endangered species list and stop extinctions. Stricter laws and regulations can protect and save entire species from ceasing to exist. “Just months after the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History accepted a $20 million donation from big-game hunter Kenneth Behring, the Institution sought a FWS permit to import the trophy remains of two endangered wild sheep that Behring shot in Central Asia…After a storm of ugly publicity, the Smithsonian abandoned the permit application” (Source 1). The case of the Smithsonian Museum attempting to import two endangered sheep is just one
Poaching and wildlife crimes are some of the reasons many species join the endangered list every year, but this doesn’t mean that you don’t have the power to stop these horrible crimes.
A social outrage has broken recently amid the scandal of Cecil the Lion’s death. Cecil was illegally hunted and killed by the American dentist Walter Palmer. Since then, it has caused the world to change their minds on the effects of trophy hunting. Succeeding the death of the renowned lion, a recent poll in America displays that on a three to one margin, the respondents said they would rather be tourists in a country that prohibits trophy hunting, instead of one that does not. The debate is ascending as more hunters proudly present their ‘trophy’ on social media. Many nature conservatives and animal protection agencies are raising awareness because of the fact that Cecil died in a meaningless and violent manner.The problem is not only in America, but around the globe. Trophy hunting should be illegal in the world because it is merely killing animals without a meaningful purpose, and it produces harmful effects to the environment.
About three years ago, I became interested in the indigenous people’s view of the conservation of natural resources when I saw a documentary which explored the indigenous people way of culture and beliefs. What I was fascinated about was when the presenter of the documentary discussed about the principle of hunting in indigenous tradition. Indigenous people set out to just like everybody else to look for food in order to provide for their family, when they kill an animal, they believe that the animal is given to them by the land. They do not believe that they kill the animal because of how skilled a hunter they were. In order to show their gratitude to the land, they make sure that they do not misuse the meat that they derive from such animal.
Animals have always been the human race’s first choice when it comes to food, clothing, and unfortunately, decoration. Black bears fur is cut into family room rugs, and deer heads are mounted on the walls of Hunters houses everywhere. Although deer mounting and rug making are practices mainly found in the U.S, humans have extended their decorative tastes across international waters. Humans have been slaying hundreds of exotic African animals, such as rhinos and elephants, in exchange for the animals’ horns and tusks. Since these items are imminently rare, humans are paying graciously to get some of their own to display in their homes, show off to their peers, and create items that could have easily been created with
The world is full of beautiful life and is currently being destroyed by poachers. Poaching has the highest rate in places such as south africa, Tanzania as well as Zimbabwe. these places are causing major damage to the animal populations and so many people around the world are outraged about poachers and many people make petitions to help stop the killing. Soon these precious animals will be gone.
For every wildlife animal legally hunted another is killed illegally; this is called poaching. The people who commit the type of crime such as that of hunting illegally are known as poachers. The worst part about this crime is that it is committed where no one can see or know what is happening. The motive of poachers can vary from wanting a trophy or pointlessly killing animals to harvesting a profit from ivories, horns, or antlers. If this environmental problem of poaching continues, then many species will either become endangered or extinct. This has been an ongoing problem for many years now and there have been many efforts to stop or catch poachers. There are various solutions that have been tried and tested but the latest and most effective solutions have yet to be explained.
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.
Although it may not seem saving or protecting endangered animals is important, it actually and truly is important because animals around the world are being killed for wildlife market goods which is illegal and destroys the species population in that environment. Citizens should take more concern with taking care of these endangered animals before they become totally extinct and will no longer be seen on the face of the earth. Recently researchers have found that poachers (hunters who hunt animals for their value with trading illegal merchandise) are killing thousands of animals a day, and they are doing so even to this day. These species should be treated with more responsibility and care. They are even being killed by human interactions
Poaching is only one of the leading causes for animals being on the endangered species, so with all these poachers we need to protect the animals more closely. Animals that are close to extinction need to be placed into a zoo or sanctuary so they can flourish. People need to do this for the animals, they may not like it but it helps get their numbers up.
Everyone’s all seen those wildlife shows on tv. The shows on National Geographic and such, showing animals in beautiful environments, everything lush and growing and nothing at all wrong that could threaten these creatures and places. But, have anyone seen the other side? The side where all these beautiful creatures and plants starve, are decimated by predators that have never been there before, and sometime even become poisoned by their very own homes and habitats? Of course no one has. That doesn’t mean that its not happening. It is happening, and its happening everywhere. And guess who is to blame? People. Society. Humans as a race pollute the environment, hunt animals simply for their parts, fish way more than humans will ever need just for the sake of money, introduce new species to new places for our own gain, and even purposefully destroy entire regions just for human expansion. And its starting to take its toll. While it is true that nature is constantly in flux and certain species come and go, humans are causing more species to disappear in the past few hundred years then nature has ever caused since the age of the dinosaurs, and therefore it is up to humans to repair the damage caused, be it cleaning the environment and habitats of these creatures, or taking more direct action to protect and preserve the species that are on the brink of extinction.
Human beings, ever since its creation has never been alone on the earth. As we all know we share this planet with lots of different species of living creatures, such as animals, and plants. But even though we name ourselves the superior species due to our ability to think, make decisions and choose how we want to live our lives, we start to grow. Our growth ranges among many different aspects, such as infrastructure and lifestyle. This led to us somehow neglecting the fact that we are not alone in this planet. We start pushing other species out of the way, and we sometimes don’t realize that the impact felt by those other species has terrible and sometimes deadly consequences, and also we sometimes fail to understand that it can also cause harm to us.