Poach•ing [poh-ching]- the illegal hunting, capture, or collecting of wildlife. This is such a sad problem that affects our Earth everyday and it needs to be stopped so that we still have many of the beautiful animals left that we have today. There is an estimated 1.8 million different species of animals that have been given scientific names, good luck fitting two of each of those on Noah’s ark. There are still millions more that are a mystery to us though. Every 20 minutes, the world adds another 3,500 human lives but loses one or more entire species of animal or plant life - at least 27,000 species per year. Although it is illegal, animal poaching is a serious problem all over the world, especially for the endangered species.
Poaching is a major problem in all six inhabited continents; the largest concentration is in Africa. The most sought after animals in Africa are lions for their fur because the fur is very expensive, elephants for their tusks because the ivory is worth a great deal of money. In Asia the problem is mostly with Rhinos, they are killed for their horns, which are worth more than their weight in gold. There used to be many species of them in the world, now there are only 5 species left. Experts say they will be distinct in a few years.
In Australia they have the most problems with whaling. Despite the no whaling policy posted on the beaches, it is rarely enforced. They also have sharks being killed, sharks are not considered to be endangered but every 6 min 200 sharks are killed for their fin meat which is a delicacy in some country, and at this rapid rate they could be in danger in the future. Europe has a smaller issue with this compared to the other countries, but the European Black Bear is endangered and it is poached often for its fur. Lastly in North America, grey wolves are poached often for the great value in their fur, and they are fast becoming extinct.
According to the world wildlife fund (WWF) poaching has caused over a 150 species to become extinct. In 2001 it was estimated that poaching is at least a $10 billion dollar business today, and involves more than 350 million plants and animals being illegally taken. WWF also predicts at rate of extinction today, as many as 20% of the world's 7-15 million species could be gone in the next 30 years. This rate of extinction hasn’t been seen since the disappearance of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. That shows how big this problem is and how fast it is affecting us
Poaching is such a harmful thing to our Earth and it needs to be stopped before it comes to the point where we have very few species left on our Earth. Animals are a beautiful thing and they all deserve to be protected from extinction.