Free College Essays-The Illegal Wildlife Trade

Around the world, there is an abundance of animals that are becoming extinct or endangered due to poaching. Animals such as Rhinos, Turtles, Gorillas, and the Tigers are critically endangered due to vulnerability and have been jeopardized by human activities. Many countries have legalized poaching, but still this problem has increased significantly in the past decade. If the world does not stop this issue countless of animals will become extinct, and our older generation will never be able to see these exotic animals living in their natural habitat. Poaching is happening all around the world and will never be stopped until people are more educated about this crime and what is occurring from it.

Poaching animals when not in season is a big habit for many, and a lot of those people don't get caught and even the ones who do aren't getting punished like they should. When we kill animals when

Hunters, activist or conservationists have a common goal “ensure that endangered species are here for generations to come” . Some comments that conservation trough commerce is a worthy way to manage natural resources and create awareness of endangered species. Hunters are more likely to be interested in support charities in order to prevent endangered animals to become extinct.

Hunting has been a part of life for many since the beginning of time, but in this generation some hunting has transformed into a barbaric and cruel practice. The sport of hunting has begun to invade the lives of many endangered species, which has drawn much concern. And in recent news, a Minnesota dentist was caught hunting a protected lion in Zimbabwe. The death of this particular lion has produced a deep shock throughout the entire world and people are now on the hunt for him to charge him for his wrongdoings. The article “US should forbid the import of lion ‘trophies’” not only informs readers of the recent crime involving the Minnesota Dentist, but also encourages a restriction that prevents hunters from bringing home their kills. This

Since the European colonization of eastern Africa, trophy hunting has been a highly debatable topic. During the early days of trophy hunting, dwindling numbers of some of the world’s most unique and prized wildlife was not a problem like it is today. Wildlife conservationists and hunters continue to debate the merits of legalized hunting on the economy and on the environment. However, not all hunters value the economic benefits and have passion for the outdoors. In fact, some of these hunters are conservationists themselves, who believe that it will allow for better conservation efforts in the long run. In another perspective, trophy hunters tend to downplay the reality of the killing part. To kill is to put to death, extinguish, nullify, cancel, or destroy. There is a fine line between conservation, and senseless killing of animals involved in trophy hunting.

Animal Use Issues Committee of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies provided a report that states, “Hunting in America is big business, generating more than $67 billion in economic output and more than one million jobs in the United States”(Heath).Hunters are a huge contribution to America’s economy, so much so that it would make a very noticeable negative hit to our economy if hunting were outlawed. This means that hunting is a critical part of many people’s lives and clearly does more good for the nation as a whole than bad. Some may argue that hunting is an expensive and unnecessary sport. While hunting is expensive, but “Economic Importance of Hunting in America” clearly shows that it brings in a large amount of money and is still bringing in more every year. To prevent from losing millions of dollars and taking jobs from thousands of innocent Americans, deer hunting must remain an option, especially for those who have no other

    Poaching has been an elusive, lucrative black market trade of animal parts and over harvests that have had negative side-effects that affected local communities, wildlife populations, and the very environment we live in. In the novel More Poachers Caught, written by Tom Chapin, he enlightens us on some of his apprehensions of poachers that he has had the opportunity to arrest as a game warden of the Northwoods. Tom Chapin is a Hibbing, Minnesota native and a veteran of the the U.S. Army. He received his bachelor’s degree in zoology in 1972 from the University of Minnesota, Duluth. His career as a conservation officer was one of triumph and honor being voted Minnesota conservation officer of the year in 1985. In this

There are a plethora of news sites, organizations, and establishments, all within the American fur trade, that enjoy deceiving the general public with claims of a humane and safe fur trade. While these claims seem to hold credibility, they fall flat once challenged with heavy evidence of cruelty and peril. The fur trade should be outright banned from the United States as it excludes humane methods of euthanasia, utilizes wretched methods of confinement, and as it acts as an extreme health hazard. Trappers, farmers, retail stores, and any individual who accommodates this cruelty, fails to take into consideration the lives of millions of animals, as well as their own health.

Trophy hunting is a wildly controversial topic, especially in today’s social media driven world. Every time a new picture of a hunter and a dead lion or other animal is posted online the media goes crazy. Africa is known for it’s beautiful landscapes, and more importantly the exotic highly sought after animals that roam the land. Africa’s most prominent animals are known as the “big five” it consists of the most challenging and rewarding animals to hunt. The big five consists of: lions, elephants, white rhinoceros, leopards, and finally the buffalo. The big five are majestic and extremely dangerous creatures, therefore they are highly sought after by mainly wealthy white males from all over the world as trophy hunts. Locals to Africa see the animals as threats to their way of life, America see’s them as exotic creatures that need to be protected, and trophy hunters see them as a challenge and another check on the list. The two perspectives I am going to look at about this controversial topic is from a social construction perspective and a political economy perspective.

A article within the California Department of Fish and Wildlife have a whole article on the actual crunched numbers of this billion dollar industry. Most individuals think of hunting and assume it's some man with a gun who starts firing away to kill bambi. But what they don't think about is the gun he's using, the gear he has on, the equipment he comes with, the upkeep of the establishment he is hunting at, or even how much manpower is being payed to monitor the game. Everything from the hunters shoes to the ammo used has a price and about a hundred or more faculties that sell. And with all of these faculties means a whole lot of dough for the big man at the capital. Within the same website is an article by the name The Economic Importance of Hunting it elaborates its government role with how it had, “ contributed $1.7 billion in federal income taxes, which equates to almost half of the entire federal budget for commerce” and even how it “Contributed $1.7 billion in federal income taxes, which equates to almost half of the entire federal budget for commerce” ( the economic importance). With such a huge contribution and the nation's current circumstances one can only imagine the impact if we didn't have

Recently, the poaching controversy has gained more attention in the news and media due to the killing of Cecil the Lion back in 2015. But what exactly is poaching and why is it illegal? Poaching can be defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals. Animals are captured and killed for their parts and products that are eventually sold on the black market and to cartels to make medicines, trinkets, and other products. Animals are typically poached for personal gain and value.The the illegal poaching trade in Africa alone has accumulated a worth of $17 billion dollars a year and it keeps growing. Ivory, fur, skin, and bones especially are in high demand and places/people are willing to pay high numbers for these products, so it is no surprise that people continue to hunt them. Due to poaching, the tiger is one of the most endangered species in the world . Tiger parts, such as fur, skin, and bones, are seen as a luxury and are used as commerce on the black market and secretly throughout Asia. Although China has participated in the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species, the laws are commonly ignored and it remains the primary destination for tiger parts. Elephants are also on the brink of extinction and the number hunted per year keeps increasing. Despite international ivory trade being banned in the 1990s, it is still sold on the black market and sought after in Asia; once again, China being the biggest demander. According to Kideghesho in Sage Journals , “widespread poaching coupled with inefficient law enforcement in Tanzania was manifested in the dramatic decline of the elephant population to less than 30% of what it was in 1979, a drop from 316,000 to 85,000 by 1987.” Rhinos are also greatly sought after in Africa. In

Animal poaching has a bigger price tag than the trophy sitting on the shelf. Poaching is causing iconic animals of many continents and of our oceans to become endangered or even extinct. These animals that people have come to love and fantasize over may be gone before we are (Africa). Elephants, rhinos, lions, and zebras are the animals thought of the most when it comes to animal poaching, but many animals are poached. They are killed for only one quality, like their horns or skins and the rest of the animal is left behind. Poaching is a massive business that is ran by international networks, it’s estimated to make hundreds of millions of dollars (World). Not all wildlife trade is illegal, but it becomes a crisis when an increasing amount of illegal poaching is done and it directly threatens the survival of species in the wild (World). Since 1960 97.6% of the Black Rhino population in Africa has been poached and lions are extinct in seven African countries (Africa).

There are organizations around the globe designed to stop elephant poaching. Their intent is to sway people’s opinions to help with the world-wide problem. Only a global ban on the sale of ivory would take the heat off of these massive creatures. Solutions might include, addressing the involvement of international criminal institutes by means of strong law enforcement at both national and international levels along the full extent of the supply. Closing down domestic (national) markets in ivory, would also be beneficial. Countries could embrace the trade ban, and educate consumers in order to stem the demand for ivory (Bloody Ivory; January 11, 2013).

Studies have shown in recent years that the amount of problems for game wardens has increased dramatically. In an article by the New York Time’s, William Dicke states that in previous years, economic issues have caused an uptick in poaching (Dicke, para. 7). Due to the sheer number of unemployed and the rates going up, crime is rising as well, and it shows in abnormal crimes like poaching. Since the unemployed have nothing to do, and they have too much time on their hands, the act of poaching is becoming more common. Often the animal is not harvested for its food products, but instead for its antlers or skin. This goes to demonstrate one of the various problems that game wardens often face, poaching.

Hunters cause injuries, make animals go through a lot of pain and suffering. They destroy their families and habitat, and leave helpless and scared baby animals that are dependent on the animals they hunt, behind to starve to death. A lot of state wildlife agencies are funded by hunting, trapping and fishing licenses, because of this they promote the killing of wild animals, and even sell wildlife trophy hunts to those who enjoy killing them. For example, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) recently received $45,000 from the sale of a killing tag for California Desert Bighorn Sheep, which was sold at the 41st Safari Club International Convention in Reno, Nevada (Anti-Hunting).