Truesdale and Coffey 1

DeAsia Truesdale and Katie Coffey

Mrs.Smith and Mrs.Dowling
English 10 Block 4
10 December 2016
Poaching
Theres a new exhibit at the zoo! Its the Western Black Rhinoceros and its supposed to
be fun. Upon arrival, the grand opening of this new exhibit has been cancelled because the only
rhino to live in the exhibit has died. You wonder why they cant just go get another one from
\Africa. Well, that was the last rhino of its kind and they are now extinct. The Western Rhino,
like many other animals, have been illegally hunted for decades. Poaching is a very serious issue
that is causing many of the worlds majestic creatures to die out.
In the United States, many people dont understand why poaching happens or what
pushes someone to poach. But growing up in a country with little money and harsh conditions,
anyone will find a way to earn a few bucks, even if that means killing innocent animals. They
arent even taken as a whole animal. Endangered animals are slaughtered so that a single body
part - like tusks, pelt, or bones - can be illegally sold for huge sums of money. (Africa).
Poachers are killing animals to make profit from their body parts. Not only that, but think of a
misbehaving child. They do things that theyre not supposed because their parents allow it.
Adults will do the same thing, but instead of parents, its the government. Large, heavily armed
poaching gangs with vehicles for road and air transportation, connected to sophisticated
smuggling operations with access to international markets and the ability to outsmart government
officials or make them look the other way, dont just appear out of thin air. (Orenstein 47). In

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Africa, some poachers are actually outsmarting the government . Not every poacher can just get
away with it, they need to more than just a free pass. Large, heavily armed poaching gangs
with vehicles for road and air transportation, connected to sophisticated smuggling operations
with access to international markets and the ability to outsmart government officials or make
them look the other way, dont just appear out of thin air. (Orenstein 47). Poaching continues to
be an issue in nature because it is in such high demand. Many countries want these animal parts
for religious statues, or even medicinal purposes. Even though their remedies have been proven
wrong, countries still want it. Many countries believe that the rhino horn is an important
ingredient for many medicines. This is false. Rhino horn has the same medicinal effect as
chewing on your fingernails aka none. (11 Facts). Many countries demand these animal parts
for religious statues, or even medicinal purposes. Even though they have been proven wrong,
countries like China still demand
Poaching can result in multiple animal species becoming completely extinct. All animals
are affected by the death of another animal. Its causing great harm to the animals as well as
entire groups of food chains. See, if one animal dies that was originally the food of another
animal it just starts killing off the predators faster which intern kills the predators predator and it
ends up being just a vicious cycle of death and destruction. Illegally killing one kind of animal
can hurt other animals too. All life on this planet touches other kinds of life in some way. Plants
are for for insects and other small animals. Larger animals feed on the smaller ones." (Shea 34.)
If poachers continue to kill one wrong animal in the wrong season, humans can cause multiple
species to become extinct just because of some stupid decision an illegal poacher makes. There
are Animals, such as the Walleye fish, that you could kill and end up killing schools of different

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fish without even intending to. "Scientists say that poaching one walleye, a kind of fish, in the
wrong season, for example, means there will be 2,000 fewer fish alive later in the year." (Shea
37). Poachers are causing Animals to go from great numbers to small almost non-existent
numbers. Most species cant survive in such harsh issues. Normally animals are supposed to
have large groups not small. At the turn of the century, 40,000 of these royal cats roamed the
Indian subcontinent; now only 4,000 to 8,000 exist worldwide. Three of the tiger's eight
subspecies have already become extinct. . (Modeling) Species are decreasing dangerously fast
because of killers and people who desire their goods and nothing more. Poachers arent
looking at the danger of taking such valuable things. The necklaces you wear were made from
gorgeously crafted tusks on large beautiful animals that youve killed. Youve got blood on your
hands now. "Poachers do not care if an animal goes extinct. They are paid to kill certain
animals and to take their valuable parts." (Shea 33). Poaching is reeking havoc on nature and
murdering innocent creatures.

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Works Cited
"Africa is home to the world's most iconic wildlife." Africa Wildlife Foundation, African
Wildlife Foundation, www.awf.org/campaigns/poaching-infographic/.
Herrington Lisa M. "The ivory war: the illegal ivory trade is threatening the survival of Africa's
elephants." Scholastic News/Weekly Reader Edition 4, 25 Feb. 2013, p. 4+. Student
Edition,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=moor14691&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA
320913521&asid=638c6625051d3bfd318e0f10108cc25c. Accessed 29 Nov. 2016.
"Modeling the effects of tiger poaching." Science News, 16 Dec. 1995, p. 413. Student Edition,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=moor14691&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA
17935134&asid=daa4d6e30a1194b2c84c71e5ea4bc223. Accessed 29 Nov. 2016.
Orenstein , Ronald, and Iain Douglas-Hamilton. "What Makes Poachers Poach?" Ivory, Horn,
and Blood, Firefly Books Inc., 2013, p. 47.
"Stopping Poaching." WWF Global, World Wildlife Fun For Nature,
wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?199903/Stopping-poaching.
Shea, Nicole. Poaching and Illegal Trade. New York, NY, Gareth Stevens Pub., 2014.
"The elephants fight back: animal conservation." The Economist, 21 Nov. 2015, p. 44(US).
Student Edition,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=moor14691&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA4501
78137&it=r&asid=00e0fc0414b8760ae67f0784b9bb7eea.