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Essay about poaching (5 points)
Essay about poaching (5 points)
Negative aspect of poaching in wildlife
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Wildlife Poaching - Muckraker
By: Eve DeToro, Ella DeToro, Jeanna Akanova, Ellie Leverett, and Maahum Jan
Poaching is when a person illegally hunts and kills wildlife. Usually poaching occurs when an animal is on land that is not their own or a poacher is hunting specific species of animal which is illegal to hunt.
Animal and wildlife poaching is a big problem that has been around for thousands of years. However, it was only until the 1800s when poaching was made illegal.
Now, the world is dealing with an unprecedented spike in illegal wildlife trade, threatening to reverse decades of conservation achievements. Some examples of illegal wildlife trade are well known, such as poaching of elephants for ivory and tigers for their skins and bones.
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Their products continue to command high prices for consumers, particularly in Asia. In Vietnam, the recent myth that rhino horn can cure cancer has led to massive poaching in South Africa and pushed the price of rhino horn to rival gold. However, countless other species are similarly overexploited, from marine turtles to timber trees. Wildlife trade escalates into a crisis when an increasing proportion is illegal and unsustainable—directly threatening the survival of many species in the wild. As human populations have grown, so has the demand for wildlife. People in many countries are accustomed to a lifestyle which fuels demand for wildlife. They expect access to a variety of seafood, leather goods, timbers, medicinal ingredients, and textiles. At the other end, extreme poverty means some people see wildlife as valuable barter for trade.
Typically, poaching is a problem in economically unstable countries whose locals rely on the money the animals make for them. Poaching also threatens other economic opportunities in local communities, such as countries that run on tourism for its wildlife. Restaurants, hotels, and other attractions would no longer stand. Poaching also can alter the economy in certain countries by making areas appear
There’s another catch to trophy hunting: it is extremely expensive. Permits for trophy hunting usually cost thousands of dollars, which leads to the idea that killing animals can actually help conservation. This concept might seem ridiculous at first, but trophy-hunting permits bring in a plethora of money. For instance, the so-called “ten-day ‘elephant package’ could cost… 36,000 [dollars]” (learnenglish). Even if you merely wish to watch the hunt, you are obliged to pay 3,800 dollars (abcnews). The prices are strikingly high, meaning that so is the revenue. South Africa alone brings in more than 744 million dollars every single year, making it its “most profitable form of commercial land use” (learnenglish). This enormous amount of money can not only be used to aid the many third world countries in Africa, but also with conservation. Many argue that by killing wild game during hunting, it causes some species to go extinct. However, strong economic incentive has motivated landowners to expand their territories, reintroduce species, and take care of the animals in general, which would indicate the opposite: more animals are safe. One might even conclude that the world is saving animals, by killing
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...
While the claws and teeth of the animal are used in traditional Asian medicine. Tiger parts are regarded highly in Asian medicine; however, there is no medical value to any part of a tiger. Rhinos are highly endangered due to poaching. A type of rhinos, called Javan rhinos, is known as the closest mammal to extinction with less than 100 of these beasts still roaming Africa. Rhinos are killed mainly for their horns while the rest of their bodies are left to rot in the wilds. A worst fate for these animals is living with a gaping wound on its face where their horns use to be. Poachers make good money by selling rhino horns to the black market. Rhino horns are believed to be a key ingredient in many Asian medicines and also believed to be a cure for cancer in some countries. This belief is false and in truth rhino horns have the same medical value as biting one’s toenails. Poachers hunt African elephants exclusively for their tusks that are made out of ivory. Elephant tusks are used as trophies or turn into other materials Poachers wipe out and separate elephant herds with machine guns and cruel traps. Poachers tend to hunt the elephants with the largest tusks. Which is usually the leader of the herd and if killed leaves
The second half of the 20th century has seen the continent of Africa in continuous turmoil. Civil wars, the AIDS epidemic, deforestation, and desertification are just a few of the problems facing Africa. A more recent threat to this ancient and fragile environment has emerged and is quickly gaining strength at devouring life – the bush meat trade. “Bush meat” refers to the smoked carcasses of various wild, and often endangered species that are sold illegally at rural markets of undeveloped countries and even at ethnic markets in developed nations. The meat of gorillas, chimpanzees, and elephants are considered delicacies and the demand for these endangered species is increasingly high. Countries at the center of this crisis are Botswana, Mozambique, Kenya, Zimbabwe, the Congo, Cameroon, Zambia, Malawi, and Tanzania. Bush meat plays a crucial socio-economic role to many in Africa, and as such epitomizes the need to balance protection against such factors as poverty, health, and food security. Certain key issues are necessary to understand the bush meat trade:
Poaching threatens the dying out of endangered species. Lions have virtually disappeared in Africa causing animal activists to protest for stricter rules on hunting big game. Damian Aspinall, director of the Aspinall Foundation, said,
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.
Poaching has become a major problem because of misinformation that rhino horns cure many diseases, and because of that, the number of rhinos poached has increased with years. Legalization of rhino horn trade was introduced as the way to conserve, protect and control rhino population. This essay is all about legalization of rhino horn trade, how will legalizing rhino horn trade help conserve rhino population and how will it be beneficial in terms of economy. Chinese grind the rhino horn and mix the powder with boiling water to make their traditional medicine. This mixture is believed to cure gout, cancer, fever, and other disorders.
Investigations are carried out primarily in towns and villages outside the conservation areas. Particularly attention should be paid to the principal source areas for commercial hunting (Bell et at., 1992). The essential feature of investigations is the following up of information concerning illegal activity back to its source in the villages or towns. Sources of information may include offenders arrested by patrols in the field, linking patrols to investigation activities, illegal hunters and dealers who have been persuaded to provide information, informers of various kinds and information volunteered by members of the public. Investigations are non-standard and unappreciable which makes them less easy to quantify than
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.
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.
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.
The wildlife trade is driven by the demand of the consumers. To the traffickers, receiving huge amounts of money for providing a commodity that does not cost them much is a very tempting offer for them, especially for those in desperate need of money. Hence, traffickers tend to hire workers to do the hunting and this is accomplished with the help of organized groups. Those groups specialize in exploiting and trading wildlife creatures (eia-international,2011). In addition, the big organized groups tend to target deprived people of very poor areas, such as people from remote villages. The targeted village people are typically illiterate, thus un-aware of the real price for the hunt or its effect in the ecosystem. Furthermore, some organized groups take over the villages and hold hostages to force the men to work for them. Hunting the animals could get a little dangerous; the hunters tend to hunt at night to escape the eyes of the law. The risk is higher if the creatures are dangerous, huge or even poisonous but the money is not necessarily as high. This trade i...
Imagine a world with barren trees in overgrown fields. The only sound to be heard is the wind blowing through the tall grass. A world once full of life now lays empty do to extinction. This is the result of a world that failed to understand the importance of wildlife conservation. Why is wildlife so important? What steps need to be taken to preserve wildlife? How can one become involved in wildlife conservation? These are all important questions that need to be explored in order to help maintain the delicate ecosystem on Earth. Wildlife plays a vital role in this fragile ecosystem and without wildlife the human race would not survive.
There is a wide range of different offenses that can fall under the vast category of wildlife crimes. These offenses can include illegal poaching of animals, illegally trafficking wildlife and wildlife products across state and/or international borders, and illegally
Due to lack of the lack of management and resources in the conservation programs has led to a further increase in poaching which has triggered to drastic decline in elephant populations. According to the Huffington post, a reputable news source, it reports, “an estimated 22,000 elephants were illegally killed across Africa in 2012”. In February alone there were as many as “650 elephants killed in a matter of days” If the elephant death continues at such a rapid rate it could lead to their demise. “Elephant poaching could wipe out 20 percent of African population in [the] next decade” (Huffington Post). An extinction in elephants would mean the possibly of many other species becoming endangered of going extinct as well.