Poaching In Kenya: One Species Extinct Or Hundreds | Teen Ink

Poaching In Kenya: One Species Extinct Or Hundreds

September 1, 2011
By dmoney23 SILVER, Mattawan, Michigan
dmoney23 SILVER, Mattawan, Michigan
6 articles 0 photos 1 comment

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Ten years ago one single rhino horn cost thirty-thousand dollars now it is over two-hundred-ten thousand dollars for one single rhino horn. Poaching in Kenya should be stopped because, it destroys the population of animals, ruins tourism sites, and extinction of species.

Poaching is ruining the population of the animals in Kenya. For example, 95% of rhino poaching happens in Kenya and South Africa. That is like your mom said you can only have five friends on facebook when you have is 100. In 2010 an average of 98 elephants have died because of poaching than 48 the year before. For rhinos over eighteen get poached a month than in 2000 only 48 a year. Shockingly over 500 tons of ivory have been poached every year since 2009. A humpback whale weighs from 35-45 tons that is around 15 humpback whales. “Kenya has the worlds third largest rhino population with 610 black rhino and 240 white rhinos. And we cant have such species go extinct,” says Dr. Kipng'etich. And although 610 black rhinos and 240 white rhinos may seem a lot Kenya is 224,961 square miles. That is huge and with modernization on the rise Kenya's wildlife is dimming. Why should we sit around texting on the couch while helpless rhinos, elephants, and other harmless species are getting killed? And your cell phone case could have once been part of a harmless elephant tusk...

Next tourism sites are losing a lot of money because of the deadly poaching in Kenya. One tourism site that has lost thousands because of poaching is losing money like a waterfall at rapid pace. “One cannot say how tourism has gone down here. There is just no animals and if poaching is the main cause of it something has to be done. Its not the lives of animals being lost but also the harsh punishments people get for having animals get poached that will have no job.” says Dr. Richard Hives. Poaching is also what has made the tourism sites and conservations to pay extra workers, extra shifts for things that could be stopped. The government of Kenya has spent over 1.25 million the past two years to prevent as little poaching as they can. Which has not helped still poaching happens today. And Still nothing has been done to try to stop it.

Finally animals getting extinct. I know the first paragraph was about endangering animals endangered mean there is starting to be very few of that species. Extinct means that species is wiped of the face of the earth, none left in existence. Some experts believe that over twenty animals have been extinct because of poaching. A lot of reasons animals are going extinct is because poorly resourced management at the conservations and tourism parks. Also a lot of political turmoil over poaching. A lot of it is is the high demand of ivory that animals are becoming extinct as I said earlier now a days it is 210,000 dollars for an ivory tusk. What we could do to stop poaching or raise awareness is donate to the IAPF (international anti poaching foundation). Just think you could be in bed one night then the next morning a harmless animal is extinct because of poaching.

I reinstate that there should be something done to stop poaching. Because it endangers, animals, ruins tourism sites, and is making animals extinct. John Sellar said, “We need the commitment of governments for Anti poaching efforts to work. Collaboration on poaching has not been present until now and we the people need to stop it.”



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