...Intro: Imagine a world without a specific species, nobody can see them anywhere anymore, not even the zoo. Well it’s a tragedy that is very possible and is happening here in our realm. Poaching in Africa is very natural, although globally illegal, and any animal is susceptible to these executioners. Not only are animals being affected by poachers, but also tribes that occupy the lands rely on the animals for food. The result of so many animals being poached in areas that tribes employ, the tribes are being malevolently accused of the rapid decline of the animal population. Most of the animals being poached will, most likely, be extinct in years to come due to the rapid decline of animals such as elephants and rhinos. As viewers of these malicious transgressions, it is our duty to become protectors of these magnificent creatures before they become extinct. It’s our time to act. Please help these defenseless creatures. Explain the Issue: In...
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...26 February 2016 Research Paper Imagine a world without animals... Eating would change and life in general would change. One may think that this is not possible, but it is. If poaching rates continue this could be a scary true future. Poaching is a deadly crime against wildlife. Wildlife officials say that legal hunters kill tens of millions of animals every year. For each of those animals, another is killed illegally, perhaps on closed land or out of season, leaving orphaned young to starve. Few poachers are caught or punished. This according to humanesociety.org. Studies have shown an increase in poaching in the recent years which is attributed to the value of the animals...
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...according to the Arbor Day Foundation, “a mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year”(Helmenstine). Many of the world’s most threatened and endangered animals live in forests, but not only animals rely on the forests, but 1.6 billion people rely on the benefits forests offer, including food, fresh water, clothing, traditional medicine and shelter. With our population growing more and more each second the world is threatening these forests and jeopardizing the benefits given. According to worldwildlife.org, 46-58 thousand square miles of forest are lost each year-equivalent to 36 football...
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...his legs were splayed and his tusks and face had been hacked off. Illegal animal poaching has caused the population to decrease rapidly, arrests of many people selling or hunting illegal animals, and there is not a lot of new legislation being brought forth. The animal population has drastically decreased in areas like Africa and Asia. The reason for this is poaching. The animals that people mainly poach are rhinos, elephants, gorillas, tigers, bears, and sea turtles. In the beginning of the 20th century there were a few million African elephants. Now there are close to 450,000-700,000. The population of African elephants has decreased 64% and the number of elephants is...
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...proposed topic for my research paper is Poaching in Africa and how technology is helping stop and track the animals. Poaching has been around for as long as anyone can remember and has only grown worse. My argument for this paper is that if technology is used better and more efficiently, poaching can be to more of a minimum thus, minimizing the number of endangered animals. I decided to propose this topic because I feel that I can accurately research this topic and help myself and others learn. When we were first assigned this paper, I knew immediately that I wanted to do something involving animals preferably sea turtles. In the research workshop that we did in class, I searched Sea Turtles and Technology in the JSTOR database and realized that my search was entirely too broad as I gotten over 50,000 results. I narrowed it down to a specific type of turtle (a leatherback) and noticed that my search was now too narrow. I got a little frustrated and decided to wait and...
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...Hannah Jones AP English P. 2 Research Paper 3/8/13 Illegal Ivory Trade Extinction rates have jumped massively in the last few years from one to two species going extinct per year to currently up to ten disappearing off of the face of the Earth per year. This problem seems to be getting worse and worse every year. In Africa, the elephants are disappearing rapidly. With such a fast rate, scientists believe all elephants will be extinct by the year 2035. In the 1980s, there were over a million elephants in the population; today there are less than 470,000. Illegal poaching seems to be the greatest cause of the loss of these animals because of the value that their ivory tusks have in the market. Are we just going to let all of the African elephants die for the selfish wants and need for an immaterial item of other people? Poaching is the illegal hunting, killing, or capturing of wild animals. Examples of poaching include hunting without a license or permit, use of a prohibited weapon or trap, hunting at the wrong time of the year, and hunting in a sanctuary or reserve, national park, or zoo. Poachers usually only take a very small part of the killed animals letting the rest of the animal carcass to rot and waste away. The ivory trade is highest today in Africa, China, and Japan with the U.S. Following right after. The demand for ivory is still on the rise. Ivory sculptures are common in the Asian culture, as well as ivory handles for guns and knives. Jewelry and piano...
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...Purdy 1011L Nov. 11, 2014 Introduction: Grauer’s Gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri), or the eastern lowland gorilla is an extant subspecies of the eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei matschie) endemic to the eastern forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Grauer’s gorilla is biologically significant, in that it is the largest living primate. According to the IUCN (2014), Grauer’s gorilla, like many of it’s great-ape relatives, is an endangered species. When searching for the reason this animal has become endangered we have no further to look than the closest mirror; adult Eastern Lowland gorillas have no natural predators other than humans. This paper presents an analysis of humanity’s contributions from 1991 to present day towards the current endangered status of Grauer’s gorillas. The paper is organized into three main drivers of endangerment: Conflict and instability; Deforestation and environmental degradation; and poaching. The majority of the research in this paper was collected in the Kahuzi-Biega national park located along the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. Body: Up through the mid 1990’s the population of Grauer’s gorillas was estimated to be around 17,000 individuals. A decade later in 2005, populations were estimated to be around 8,000 individuals or less (IUCN 2014). A reasonable question to ask would be, “How did this happen?” To answer this, we must backtrack to the final decade of the 20th century. In 1991, riots broke...
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...Determination of Animal Abuse Jennifer Stafford Determination of Animal Abuse People and animals have been around since the beginning of time. In early days, animals were killed and hunted for survival. However, the relationship between people and animals has changed somewhat since then. Today, the vast majority of people do not need to kill and hunt animals in order to survive. In this paper, I will talk about how some people think that animal-factory farms, family farms and hunting is considered animal abuse. I will then later explain that neither of these is considered animal abuse. Therefore, the question is, how does one determine what actually animal abuse is? There is a massive debate about this question and there is no right answer. Everyone sees things from the perspective of their own interests and concerns. Animal abuse is classified as inflicting physical agony, anguish or demise upon an animal contingent upon one’s belief. First, some people believe that killing and hunting animals for any reason is classified as animal abuse. The first example some may classify as animal abuse is animal-factory farms. Animal-factory “farms are usually large industrial facilities where livestock are crowded together” (USA Today, 2012). The small animals, like chickens, are put into cages. One cage can hold many animals. These cages are packed so full with the small animals that the animals cannot move freely. They do not get to see sunlight, and it can be hard to breathe...
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...of the contents of the document.] 2012 Nishant Aishwarya Roll Number - 26 Introduction Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative. Wildlife can be found in all ecosystems. Deserts, forests, rain forests, plains, grasslands, and other areas including the most developed urban sites, all have distinct forms of wildlife. While the term in popular culture usually refers to animals that are untouched by human factors, most scientists agree that wildlife around the world is impacted by human activities. Humans have historically tended to separate civilization from wildlife in a number of ways including the legal, social, and moral sense. This has been a reason for debate throughout recorded history. Religions have often declared certain animals to be sacred, and in modern times concern for the natural environment has provoked activists to protest the exploitation of wildlife for human benefit or entertainment. Literature has also made use of the traditional human separation from wildlife. Foods, Pets, Traditional Medicine: Anthropologists believe that the Stone Age peoples and hunter-gatherers relied on wildlife, both plants and animals, for their food. In fact, some species may have been hunted to extinction by early human hunters. Today, hunting, fishing, or gathering wildlife...
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...Hunting Ethics For my research paper I chose to discuss the topic of hunting ethics. I have several reasons for choosing this topic, first and foremost hunting is my biggest passion in life and I see a lot of misconceptions regarding hunting in the media and in the general public, another reason I chose is due to the firestorm that was generated when a Texas cheerleader, Kendall Jones, posted pictures of game animals she had legally taken on an African safari with her father on Facebook. This incident truly showed me for the first time how widespread anti-hunting sentiment was as well as how little people seem to know about it. In order to counter these sentiments and give people a better understanding of hunting and how it is not unethical, I will state what I believe to be the three most common ethical objections to hunting and then provide rebuttals. The three objections are, hunting is unethical because it disrupts nature and has caused the extinction of numerous species, hunting is unethical because modern technology gives humans an unfair advantage, and finally, the biggest and most common objection, hunting is unethical because it causes animals to experience extreme duress and pain. It is my hope that my arguments will sway you to see that hunting, when done lawfully, is completely ethical. Objection one is “hunting is unethical because it disrupts nature and has caused the extinction of numerous species”. While it is true that overhunting and poaching have caused the decline...
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...FOR TREATING NONHUMAN ANIMALS ETHICALLY APPLIED TO CARL SAFINA’S DISCUSSION ON VARIOUS NONHUMAN ANIMALS In this paper, I intend to explain Martha Nussbaum’s capabilities theory for treating nonhuman animals ethically, then apply this theory to Carl Safina’s discussion of various nonhuman animals in his book Beyond Words, How Animals Think and Feel. Martha Nussbaum is an American Philosopher, who focused on philosophy in the field of moral theories. She is a distinguished Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago. Her interests include the ancient Greek, ethics, political philosophy, Roman philosophy, feminism and animal rights. Her works include various books either as an author or an editor. Carl Safina is a philosopher who explored the inner feelings of the animals in his book Beyond Words. This paper will apply Nussbaum's philosophy to the Carl Safina's discussion that demonstrates that animals have feelings, and describes their cognitive nature. Thus, they are aware of the mistreatment, only that they are powerless to resist the abuses. He elaborates the communication abilities of the elephants, whales, and other animals. We, human beings consider ourselves superior to the others, but by various measures, we are the most “frequently irrational, distortional, delusional, worried.” Many people who oppose the harsh treatment of animals cite Martha Nussbaum’s capabilities theory. His approach advocates for the better treatment of animals and recognition of their...
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...especially the tourism sector — depend so fundamentally on pristine natural resources. Most of the environmental issues in Southeast Asia are inextricably linked, and working to ameliorate one will often have added benefits for the others. Here are some of the problems, and some things you personally can do to help. 1. Endangered species conservation The problem: Southeast Asia sits almost entirely in the tropics, and as such, is covered in rich, dense, biologically diverse jungle. As a result of a wide number of factors — from poaching to deforestation — many native species are endangered. One of the most prominent of these species is the Asian elephant. The total number of Asian elephants in the world has sadly fallen to below 30,000, down from 100,000 at the beginning of the 20th century in Thailand alone. Asian elephants are endangered for a number of reasons: First, they have been subject to ivory poaching. Though elephant poaching is illegal, there’s still plenty of demand for ivory, so it happens anyway. Second, they have experienced widespread habitat destruction, which simultaneously makes it harder to get food, and puts elephants into much more contact...
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...within any population is exceptionally important to the sustainability of any ecosystem or environment. The cycle of life shows us that all species have another species that they rely on for several necessities. Some species use other species for sustenance, some for shelter, or hunting skills. The reasons why species rely on each other vary; however, the need is infinitely important. We will discuss why genetic diversity is so important. We will explain why population management and diversity is necessary to the successful survival of every population. Lastly, we will compare and contrast the ex situ and in situ methods of conservation. It is extremely important for humanity to take responsibility for the failings of some ecosystems and this paper allows us to see the ways that we, as humanity, can help to reverse that damage. Genetic Diversity in Populations Genetic diversity also known as the level of biodiversity simply measures the number of genetic characteristics that the genetic makeup of a particular species consists of. It is different from the term genetic variability as they are many times used alternatively but in reality they are different. So why is genetic diversity so important? It is the basis for the populations of various living species to adapt themselves as the surrounding environment changes. If there is no genetic diversity many of the species will vanish off the face of earth. The environment on the earth changes rapidly and hence with the help of genetic...
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...Is there ethical treatment for animals in captivity? The term “ethical” implies the moral basis of treatment towards animals while “captivity” denotes confinement or lack of freedom. The unmistakable contrast in these two words itself creates the argument whether ethical treatment is possible for animals in captivity. Humans had often been overly considerate about moral principles while dealing with its own kind. Whenever ethics were encroached upon, man stood up against it, questioned it and regained it. But unfortunately, lacking advanced communication like humans, animals are unable to. Human intervention in wildlife has bereaved animals of total control over their own lives. Man may reason out his intrusion, yet, the animals in captivity, being deprived of their natural habitats and having bred in man-made enclosures for generations, tend to misperceive their animality. It is indispensable to have an insight into what causes the bereavement of animals and how it is caused, before looking into its moral principles. Among the contrastive places that I came across in which animal captivity is proceeded, wildlife preservation zoos are the most popular, and least considered as a confinement of animal freedom. Thousands of people visit zoos daily but rarely give a thought to the miserable lives that animals have to spend stagnating and sleeping, due to the less spacious and artificial residences provided. Some present enclosures in zoos have been changed to natural barriers...
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...Giraffid Newsletter of the Giraffe & Okapi Specialist Group Note from the Co-‐Chairs Volume 7(2), December 2013 Wow – what a bumper issue and, of course, only befitting for the renamed Giraffid newsletter of the IUCN SSC Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group (GOSG)! Inside this issue: It has been an exciting last six months and this issue brings you lots of stories and tall tales from across the African continent and beyond. From species conservation strategies and Red List updates, interesting wild and captive behaviours to translocations, hooves and DNA, this is truly a fully loaded newsletter. An inspiring read to keep us all going over the imminent festive season and a relaxing winter or summer break. Unusual sightings of wild giraffe behaviour 4 GOSG together with the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature...
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