Link of article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15663982
The main issue of the article is to address the situation that more animals on the endangered list are approaching extinction and this is a troubling problem which could lead to many more.
I believe the purpose of this article is to increase awareness among poachers and hunters to not treat animals as game and continue shooting them down or taking their defence mechanism leaving them helpless in the wild, for example, a rhino's horn.
To reinforce his point, he writes other examples such as the reptiles of Madagascar, Przewalski's horse as well as the northern white rhino. These animals are also at the brink of extinction or already extinct.
I believe the writer is writing in the point of view of a conversationalist and representing "tree-hugging" nature lovers who care for the environment.
The possible consequences of the extinction of certain species in the wild could lead to a disruption in the food chain in that environment, which might affect many other species of animals, worst case scenario being all the species in that area being wiped out.
My personal take on this issue is that animals lives are also lives and they should be treated with respect. In view of this, which is more important, money or the continuation of a species? Treating animals like a dart board is simply heartless and shows the cruelty men has brought to this earth along many other harms brought about. We should continue to help breed these animals as it is unfair to future generations that we can see this beautiful creatures, but yet our future generations will only view them in museums or books. I admire these enviromentalist and conversationalist as their desire to save these animals and conserve them is indeed remarkable. I strongly feel that all countries should impose bans on poaching or hunting of any endangered species, as it threatens the food chain in that habitat, which could cause a "butterfly effect" causing harm to many other animals.
The extinction of certain species of animals like the dodo bird have already taught us of the importance of conservation of biodiversity flora and fauna. However, we need to be reminded that poachers are selfish people who care not about the potential extinction of these species but about the profits they can make from poaching these animals. As such, I feel that we should impose stricter bans on the poaching, hunting, trade and selling of endangered animals, as well as international effort in the apprehension and punishment of those guilty. We also have to ensure that the consequences for breaking these rules should be severe so as to deter potential hunters and poachers.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty sad due to the fact that it is a well known species of mammal that has followed the quaggas, mammoths, thylacines into extinction. It is astounding that people can hunt animals into extinction. The passenger pigeon existed in billions, but was completely wiped out by people who did not like them. Yet, despite the miserable idea that future generations will never see some animals alive, there is a glimmer of hope that the animals may still be hiding somewhere. It is possible for certain animals to exist without the knowledge of people. An example is the relatively recently discovered okapi, whose habitat is the remote jungles in Africa. In fact, some animals thought to be extinct were rediscovered to be alive, like the coelacanth fish and the takahe bird. There are even reports of living Tasmanian wolves, pterosaurs, plesiosaurs and dodos lingering to this day.
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