Every year thousands of animals are poached mainly in Africa and Asia if they possess something that is considered of value. Many people believe that the rhino's horn is an important ingredient for many medicines, therefore rhinos are the most targeted in this industry. In January 2013, 946 rhinos were poached, this is at least 2 per day. Other animals such as elephants are also being poached for their tusks, and now elephants are considered to be an endangered species. And it's not only these animals that are at risk, bears and tigers are also poached in the wild.
Poaching used to be profiled by the photo of a man with a rifle leaning on a large animal however nowadays helicopters, night vision equipment and tranquilisers are used to kill the animals at night and avoid law-enforcement patrols. There are alternatives to killing these animals however Asian tribes especially believe that their body parts are needed for traditional medicine.
I think that we need to raise awareness to prevent poaching and support charities such as WWF. With their partners, they have helped to step up efforts to stop rhinoceros poaching in Africa. When they launched their African Rhino Programme in 1997, there were 8,466 white rhinos and 2,599 critically endangered black rhinos remaining in the wild. Today, there are around 17,500 white rhinos and more than 4,000 black rhinos. WWF have made a big difference and have helped to save many other animals that are on the verge of being endangered such as tigers and elephants.
What do you think?
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