A grown female elephant and her calf wander the hot, African plane, in search of food and water. After some time, she spots a watering hole in the distance. The grown elephant steps forward only to have her foot caught in a mess of wire. A cry of agony escapes her. She frantically twists and tugs her foot to escape the thick snare, only to be tangled more completely. The baby elephant becomes hysterical, not knowing how to help her mother. Hours later, men creep out from under the trees to find the enormous elephant still struggling with the snare. They shoot her with a poisonous dart causing her to collapses to the ground. The men violently begin to saw her tusks off. Her body is left in a huge pool of blood and her baby is left orphaned with little chance of survival.
This phenomenon, known as poaching, occurs all over the world, even here in the United States. Poaching drastically reduces populations of not just elephants but many animals like rhinos and whales. Usually the poachers just take part of the hunted animal, like its tusks or fins. Poachers then sell these for a high price at black markets all over the world. Much has been done to prevent poaching, but it remains a problem all over the world.
Many don’t understand what poaching is. When asked how much they knew about poaching on a scale of one to ten (with one being “nothing”), half of the students in Mr. Levassiur’s eleventh grade English class responded with a number between one and four. Our class is just one example of the lack of knowledge about poaching throughout the world. Activists could gain more support if the public knew more about the dangers of poaching.
For example, when they discovered how inhumane Canada’s commercial seal hunt was, a group of concerned citizens banded together to form the International Fund for Animal Welfare. This group has helped protect poached animal species and set up animal protection programs all over the world. The IFAW provides educational resources such as fact sheets, activities, posters and videos all about endangered species. They also try to reach out for public involvement through petitions. When more people become involved, more animals can be saved from poachers.
Elephants are among the hundreds of species threatened by the cruel actions of poachers. According to the World Wildlife Foundation, “More than 12,000 elephants are poached mostly in Central Africa each year.” The WWF also claims that “300 elephants were killed in Bouba National Park, Cameroon in only two months during 2012.” Elephants are mostly hunted for their tusks which are composed of ivory. With such a sudden, decline in the number of elephants roaming the savanna, food webs can be disrupted. For example, if the African Elephant disappeared, there would be less dung for the dung beetles to eat. Their population would decrease causing the beetle’s predator’s populations to decrease due to starvation. The soil would be affected because dung beetles add nutrients from the dung to the soil. Poor soil nutrients could inhibit the growth of African plants, which ultimately provide energy for every consumer in the area.
The students in Mr. Levassiur’s eleventh grade honors English class were also asked how much they thought poaching affected the other organisms in the area on a scale of one to ten (ten being “extremely”) Every student responded with a number at or above a five. One student commented that “It can affect the circle of life.” Though many people are not thoroughly educated on the matter, most understand that poaching is detrimental to the ecosystem.
Not only does poaching affect the ecosystem, but it also affects the economy of the area. Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks states that “poaching robs law-abiding hunters of game and fish, businesses and taxpayers of revenues generated by hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing recreational pursuits, and it denies other Montanans the ability to enjoy seeing healthy, mature fish and wildlife populations.” Poachers also give a poor reputation to hunters who are respectable about buying a license and hunting during the correct time of year.
Poaching seems to be an ongoing loop of murder. Poachers kill more and more animals to meet higher demands of goods such as ivory or hides. They spend the money they’ve made and then need to continue to poach animals to gain more wealth. Therefore this problem is far from easy to solve.
How Stuff Works claims that “more than 154 nations have signed treaties to regulate trade of more than 30,000 species of plants and animals that are threatened.” Why is poaching still a problem then? Earth Trends answers this question by explaining that “the problem is that banning trade can increase the value of hide or body parts and put the species at an even higher risk for poaching and illegal trade.” It seems to compare to when a child writes “Do not read” on their journal. It sparks natural human curiosity and a higher level of intrigue to the audience, which in this case would be the Black Market.
Many laws and organizations have been established to help curb the rate of poaching. The Wildlife Protection Society of India reports that “a general offense under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, attracts a maximum sentence of three years imprisonment or a fine which may extend to Rs. 25,000 or both.” This discourages people from poaching, though has not proven totally effective because as of now in India, 19 tigers have been poached. In 2012, 31 tigers were poached. 2013’s count is already catching 2012’s count and it is only May. The World Wildlife Foundation was also created to tackle the underlying causes to environmental degradation. They extend support to thirteen major problem areas in hope of preserving as many species as possible. The World Wildlife Foundation also states that “in 1989, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) banned the international trade in ivory.” This helped reduce elephant poaching, but many unregulated ivory markets around the world continue to “fuel an illegal international trade.”
There are so many ways to become active in the race to save species endangered from the cruel acts of poachers. Many organizations such as the WWF or IFAW accept donations to make it possible to save more animals. IFAW provides many opportunities to sign petitions against animal poaching and chances to write to congress so your voice can be heard in a sea of people. The WWF even has openings for intern work all over the world to help their cause. People can even support the cause with bumper stickers, t-shirts, and other items to publicize anti-poaching organizations.
According to the World Wildlife Foundation, “The global value of illegal wildlife trade is between $7.8 billion and $10 billion per year.” Is the price of fur, tusks, fins, and horns worth more to people than the beauty and grace of a roaming wild animal? Poaching has become a major problem over the years to the point where laws needed to be created and non-profits organizations were necessary to saving targeted animals. There is much the public can do to support the cause, so what have we been waiting for? We need to take action to eliminate poaching before it is too late.