Siegmann,Klinker1

Kyle&Nick

English2

Hooper

5May2016

KingdomMassacre
Since2007,thenumberofRhinoskilledeachyearinSouthAfricahasincreased
exponentiallyfromthirteenin2007to1,175in2015(ElephantPoaching).Thisdrasticincrease
intheseanimalsdeathsisacauseformuchconcern.Poachingofanimalshasbeengoingonfor
yearsandhastakenamajortollontheexistenceofanimals.Thisillegalactivityissolelyforthe
profitofthehuntersandnotforthebettermentoftheenvironment.Withoutproperlawsinplace
andprotectionschemestheseanimalscanverywellbeindangerofbecomingextinct.
PoachingisverypopularinAfricaduetothemoneyinvolved,andtheeffectsofthatis
extinction.Itisshockingbecauseitshowssomepeoplearejustgreedyforthemoneyanddonot
careabouttheanimalsgoingextinct.Thecauseofpoachingisthathunterswillgooutinthewild
andkillelephantsandtigersfortheirhornsandtusks.Peoplewilldothisformoneyandtrade
purpose.Whenpeoplepoachtheyarekillingtheanimalssomuchthattheywillbeextinctsoon.
Evendiseasescancomeoutofpoaching.Therearepeoplethatworktoprotecttheanimalsso
theywillnotbekilledtheynotthemintoanewlocationtheymonitortheytomakesurethereare
nothuntersnearby.
Theivorytradeofpoachingiswhenpeoplecapturetheanimalsandtheywilltransport
themsotheycantradewiththemandmakemoney.Themainreasonthativorytradeisbad
becausewhenpeoplearetransportingtheanimalstheyarebeingkilledbecausethereisnofood

Siegmann,Klinker2
orwaterforthemtoeatordrink.TheRhinoisoneofthebiganimalsaffectedwithpoaching
huntersarekillingthemsomuchfortheirhornsandtusks,becauseofthistheRhinoisbeing
extinct.
InMay2015,thecrosscontinentOperationCobraIIIbroughttogetherenforcement
agenciesfromrange,transitanddestinationcountries,resultingin139arrestsandmorethan247
seizures,whichincludedelephantivory,medicinalplants,rhinohorns,pangolinsandmany
more.Thismeansthattheelephantsandtherhinosarebecomingsick.Andthoughnotyet
endangered,whiterhinosarebeingpoachedsoaggressivelyinSouthAfricatodaythatmost
expertsagreethespeciescouldfaceextinctioninabouttentotwentyyearsifantipoaching
effortsdonotsucceed.Meaningthattherhinosarebeingkilledsomuchthattheyaregoingtobe
extinct.
Blackrhinos,whichonceinhabitedlargeswathsofNorthandCentralAfrica,are
criticallyendangered,andonesubspecies,thewesternblackrhinoceros,wentextinctin2011.
(Johnson207)Sincethewesternblackrhinowentextinctthesamethingcouldhappentothe
blackrhino.Thismattersbecausethiswillbethesecondrhinothatwillbeextinct.Expertsargue
thattheintensityofthecurrentpoachingspreeissuchthattherhino'sdeathratewillstart
decreasingtheirbirthrateassoonasnextyearacriticalstatethatwouldmarkthebeginningof
speciesextinctionifthekillingscontinuepersistently.Meaningthatthedeathrateisgoingupa
lotinthelastfewyears.Poachingandtheillegaltradeinwildlifehavereachedunusuallevels.
Asfewas3,200tigersexistinthewildtoday.Inthelastfewyears,over100,000elephantswere
poachedinAfrica.Somerhinopopulationsfaceextinction.Thedisappearanceofindividual
speciesthreatensbiodiversity,andbyextensionthelifesupportsystemsontheplanet.

Siegmann,Klinker3
Theglobalefforttoendillegaltradeinwildlifereceivedaboostlastyear,astheUN
GeneralAssemblyadoptedaresolutionurgingmemberstatestoclassifyillegaltraffickingin
wildlifeasaseriouscriminaloffence.Awaythatonemaybeabletohelpwiththisinhumane
activityishelpingtoprotecttheenvironment.WorldWildlifeDayisacalltobecomemore
informedandmoreinvolvedinstoppingthiscrimeagainstnature,communitiesandfuture
generations.Thisyear,theUNcallsforstrongpoliticalguaranteedtobeputintoactionthrough
collectiveeffortsofgovernmentsandcitizensaroundtheworld.TheUNishelpingputastopto
poachingandtryingtoreachouttocitizenstogetthemtospreadawareness.TheWorldWildlife
Fundsuspendscriticallyendangeredblackrhinosbytheirfeetfromhelicoptersandfliesthem
frompoachinghotspotsinSouthAfricatosaferterrain.Dozensofthebeastsarebeingflown
fromSouthAfricatoBotswana,wherethegovernmenthastakenahardlineagainstpoachers
whokilltheanimalsforthesupposedmedicinalvalueoftheirhorns.Thereareacoupleof
organizationsthataretryingtopreventpoachinginAfrica.Suchas,theUnitedNations
DevelopmentProgramme(UNDP)anditspartnersarecommittedtostoppinganimalpoaching
andtraffickinginAfrica.

Siegmann,Klinker4
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