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Animal

Poaching

By: Ian Lam 6B, Mathias Grunberger 6B and Joshua Low 6CB

What is Poaching?

Poaching is illegal killing or capturing of animals for something valuable they have e.g fur, tusks, something made out of ivory or scales to sell on the market for money. Most people ask “What is the difference between hunting and poaching?”.

The difference is that hunting is the legal killing of animals and poaching is the illegal killing of animals. Although hunting is legal we think it is still bad since you’re killing something.

 

Why do Poachers Poach?

Poachers poach for money and people buy ivory and other animal parts mostly to make clothes, utensils and medicine (that scientifically doesn't work). Most, but not all, poachers are poor people that get hired by poaching gangs that just want to make some money to feed their families.

How Poachers Poach?

You probably think poaching is all with guns but that's not true. Even though they still use guns there are a lot of ways poachers kill animals without them. For example poachers use snare wires which are wires/cables that get tied around trees to choke animals walking into them. Some poachers use dogs to chase the herds of animals into pitfalls which are big holes that the poachers dig or pin-board traps which are long boards with lots of metal spikes on them and when the herds of animals run by, some of them get hurt and that makes it easier for the poachers to kill them. Sometimes poachers use spray poison to kill large amounts of animals in a single area. A less used way of poaching is electrocution where the poachers use electrical wires charged with at least 230 volts of electricity to electrocute the animal. A common method of poaching is using helicopters to locate, identify and kill the animal and then cut off the animals' valuable parts. Poachers also use nets and bear traps to trap animals and hold them down so they can get the ivory.
 

  The Impact of Poaching

 

The effects of animal poaching is a very big concept. Animal poaching is caused by poachers trying to illegally poach endangered animals,

animals that could be in an area that is protected and some may even consider hunting out of season or hunting when it is legal poaching. Many unlicensed hunters do it for the money because they get lots and lots of money. The act of selling illegal animal products around the world is somewhere in the high millions if not billions. People poach for the products themselves and for the money. Which brings us to the effect of  poaching.

Impact on Animals

 

Extinction is the greatest threat to animals. Animals are also the greatest sufferers to poaching. Another effect to animals was in 2011 when all

the west african black rhinos where pronounced extinct by the international union for the conservation of nature which includes animals.

 

Impact on the Environment

The effect on the environment is how fast animals become extinct. If you think very hard you will be stunned. You'd be stunned if you imagined going to the savanna and all you see is orange and yellow grass. You'd be thinking "Where are all the animals?", well there'll be no more animals if poachers keep doing what they do. They'll all be extinct unless someone doesn't do anything about it. That shows you how animal poaching and animal extinction affects the environment.



What do People Make Out of the Ivory/Animal Parts?

 

Rhino horns are used to make medicine that is believed to cure the flu, hangovers, inner demons and cancer but it has been proven to cure none of the above. Elephant tusks get turned into chopsticks, stamps, piano keys, house decorations, utensils and necklaces. Do those seem like something worth the life of an elephant. Turtle shells are turned into decorations and ash trays.

 

How are People (NGOs, Governments, Individuals) Helping and What are they Doing? 

 

Lots of people like governments, NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) and even individuals like us are helping to stop poaching. The government have the the power to change laws about poaching and they have the money to support anti-poaching.

What are Governments Doing?

With the money they have the government can buy the equipment necessary to protect the animals from poachers. The government build safe and friendly homes for animals and have them under 24/7 surveillance by high tech security cameras and highly trained guards armed with powerful assault rifles. The government also use drones equipped with high tech cameras to keep an eye on the animals in case poachers attack them. Our government is also helping to stop poaching. For example the Hong Kong government has increased the prison sentence for illegal ivory trade from 2 years to 10 years and doubled the fine of $5M to $10M. They have also banned ivory in Hong Kong which means 34 ivory factories and 138 ivory shops in Hong Kong will be closed over the next 3 years.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are NGOs doing?

 

NGOs don’t have much money to buy equipment because they don’t get government funds that’s why they ask for donations. They don’t get paid to do it either, people volunteer to help because they feel passionate about the problem. NGOs like African Parks and the International Anti-Poaching Foundation train rangers to protect animals. African parks also move elephants to safer homes away from poachers. An NGO called WWF (World Wildlife Fund) make homes for the wildlife and train rangers to protect them from poachers. There’s another NGO called the Elephant Society  re-educate poachers and give them a chance to become a ranger. This helps the poachers become better people and reflect on their past mistakes. Some NGOs cut off part of the horn/tusk or spray paint the fur so the poachers don’t kill them.

How do Individuals Help?

There are some individuals like us who want to raise awareness and take action about this issue. For instance Kruger National Park has made a new wide range surveillance technology called Meerkat. It is being used to inform the rangers of possible poaching activity. This system can tell the difference between the heat signatures and movements of humans and animals. It can pinpoint the exact location of the poachers which makes it easier for the rangers to make a fast response.

What can you do?


We believe anyone can make a difference and everyone has their part to play in this fight against poaching. If everyone could play their small part it could make a huge difference. You could do something as big as adopting an endangered animal and sponsoring it or as small as just telling your friends and family about this problem to raise awareness. If you adopt an animal threatened by poaching the money you give to sponsor that animal will help save it. When you tell your friends or family about the poaching problem you could tell them to always ask the shopkeeper if what you’re buying is ivory and if it is tell them they should refuse to buy it. You could also help an NGO buy donating money to it or volunteering to help them. Here are some NGOs you could help:

https://www.worldwildlife.org/how-to-help

https://donate.wildaid.org/give/126299/#!/donation/checkout

https://www.iapf.org/get-involved

Stopping poaching is related to one of the global goals which we need to achieve by 2030. Now you know the effect of poaching and the good things people are doing about it and you can take your own action and raise awareness so we can finally stop poaching. Thank you for taking the time to read our website.

What can you do? 你能做什么?

我们相信任何人都可以有所作为,并且每个人都有责任去打击偷猎行为。如果每个人都可以做一小部分,加起来会带来很大的改变。

 

你可以做一些收养濒临绝种动物然后赞助它,或者告诉你的朋友和家人这个情况来提高这方面的意识。如果你选择助养一种因偷猎而被威胁的动物,你付的钱将会拯救那些动物。当你告诉你的朋友或家人关于偷猎问题时,你可以告诉他们问店主买的是否象牙,如果是的,你应该告诉他们拒绝购买。您也可以透过捐款去帮助非政府组织或为她们当义务工作。以下是您可以帮助的一些非政府组织:

 

https://www.worldwildlife.org/how-to-help

https://donate.wildaid.org/give/126299/#!/donation/checkout

https://www.iapf.org/get-involved/


停止偷猎与我们到2030年需要实现的全球目标之一有关。现在你知道偷猎的影响,你可以采取行动并提高意识,以便最终停止偷猎。感谢您花时间阅读我们的网站。


以下都是一些和我们一样富有热心的非政府组织。


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