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Kody Bonham
Justin Mathews
English 300
6 May 2016

Humans have hunted for hundreds and thousands of years. Its undoubtedly a necessary
and reasonable part of life. Nonetheless, if one wishes to hunt they should make the moral
obligation to do what is correct. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Like many situations
in the world, people can be greedy and selfish. There is a fine line to be drawn when hunting
which is why rules and regulations are implemented. Poaching is the act of taking something
without ones permission and using it as ones own. More specifically, it is the act of taking game
or fish illegally. (Dictionary) Examples include: Taking without a license or permit, use of a
prohibited weapon or trap, taking outside of the designated time of day or year, and taking of a
prohibited sex or life stage. Poaching can also refer to the taking of animals from a wildlife
sanctuary, such as a national park, game reserve, or zoo. Poaching can easily be considered as a
form of theft which is obviously a crime. Taking that into consideration, there are several
conservationist organizations taking a firm stance against this crime as they see it as a worldwide
issue that should be dealt with immediately. Poaching has negative affects a crossed the world
from America, Africa, China, India and everywhere else in between. Many negative issues have
arisen from poaching making it a huge concern for us today and will continue to grow in the
future. It is a problem that should be dealt with in a timely manner because the longer we wait
the worse the problems will become as poaching numbers are on the rise.
Poaching is a crime that isnt all black and white. There are many different methods and
reasons as to why people do it that may seem right or justified to them. For example, some

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people poach to acquire more food and clothing, some do it for sport as a way of getting their
adrenaline fix, but the primary reason behind it is to simply make money. There are several
methods to poaching depending on what geographical area one is in and what is available. These
methods usually include trapping, snaring, shooting, spears and dogs, and bow and arrows.
Research shows that poor people are generally more susceptible to poaching. They can make
more money selling the animals on the black market than the jobs available. Africa and India is
home to many underprivileged people and they rely on poaching as a means of living. They can
get paid by poaching, as well as acquire more resources. Not only is this an incentive for them to
poach, but they also do not have hardly any regulations or rules preventing it making it even
more likely. This reasoning is more prevalent in China, Africa, and India where poverty is more
common. However, America has a huge problem with poaching as well and its not limited to
underprivileged people.
Very recently, the media had an outcry in regards of the story of Cecil the lion of
Zimbabwe. This incident involved a very wealthy, white dentist from America, named Walter
Palmer. He is a huge big game hunting advocate and was seeking to add a lion to his trophy case.
Cecil, a very well-known and loved lion that lived in Hwange National park was a huge
attraction because of the story behind him. He also had a very noticeable dark mane that set him
apart from the others. Sadly, the lion was chased out of the National Park that protected him and
shot with a bow and arrow. After being tracked for almost two days Cecil was shot with a rifle
putting him out of his miseries. The media covered this story very heavily causing
conservationists to become extremely angry and they wanted answers. After what most people
are calling a scam, Walter Palmer was found not guilty. The court concluded that he, in fact, did
have all the correct papers and did pay multiple thousand dollars making it legal. Zimbabwe did

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ban him from ever hunting there again. (Truesdell) However, the people that conducted the hunt
remain in trouble. They are being tried because of their unlawful tactics of using bait to draw the
lion out of his habitat enabling Mr. Palmer to take a shot. This story goes to show how thin the
line can be from hunting becoming a form of poaching. Palmer had no idea prior to the hunt that
he was about to kill an icon of Zimbabwe. He had no idea this animal had a name or anything.
However, he put his trust into the wrong people and they almost got him arrested for a long time.
The conductors of this hunt were solely in it for the money and should very well be punished.
Regardless of the situation, poaching is extremely harmful to our environment and
ecosystems. The risk it makes our environment in outweighs the benefits one-hundred-fold. Not
to mention how selfish one would have to be to commit a crime to this degree. The results of
poaching can sometimes be seen right away, but other times the effects are unnoticed in short
time. It can negatively impact our environment in many more ways than just one. Elephants and
rhinoceroses of Africa are huge targets for poachers. They slaughter them taking only the ivory
tusks and the horn of the rhino, leaving the dead animal lay to rot away. These criminals then sell
these items on the black market; the elephant tusks are worth about $1,500 per pound, and one
tusk could weigh as much as 250 pounds. In comparison, a rhino horn is worth as much as
$60,000 per kilogram! Many areas in Asia believe that the horn of the rhino can be used to create
medicine which is a main reason why they are poached to the extent that they are. Their horns
are more valuable than gold, diamonds, and even cocaine. Unfortunately, trafficking these
animals has nearly doubled from 2007 to 2013 revealing the severity of the issue. Poaching has
even totally wiped out the black African Rhino. Similarly, to the black rhino, the white rhino has
taken its toll in numbers due to poaching. There is only one male left in the world. There was
recently a very famous photo released of this animal being surrounded by armed guards

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protecting the last of its kind. (FEDOTOV) The value that these items are priced at is what drives
people to act illegally, but that does not make it acceptable by any means. According to the
organization World Elephant Day, elephants total population has dropped an eye opening sixty
two percent in the last ten years, and they could possibly become extinct in the next ten. It is
estimated that one hundred elephants are killed in Africa daily! On top of these alarming
numbers, is the fact that there are only about 400,000 elephants remaining in total. In the
beginning of 2015, about four months in, a horrifying 393 rhinos had already been killed. That
makes for an eighteen percent increase from the same time one year before. In the 2014 year
1,215 rhinos were poached. (In Cape Town) This quantitative data collected upholds the severity
poaching could possibly have on a species, and in return, on an ecosystem.
Along with elephants and rhinos, tigers are also huge targets for poachers. Tigers are
clearly beautiful animals, but that is why they are poached. Tigers are poached for their hides,
mainly, but most parts of the tiger or valuable making them very profitable. Much like the
situation in Africa with elephants and rhinos, tigers have taken a huge loss due directly to
poaching placing them on the endangered species list. There are nine species of tigers, and three
of which are already extinct. This continues to be a huge source of conflict in Asia as they
tirelessly try to protect them. Sadly, there numbers continue to fall. (Sharma)
Looking deeper into the issues Africa faces because of poaching one would see how truly
startling it is. Not only are overall species at risk of extinction, but rebel armies are using it as a
means of funding their terror. A group known as the Lords Resistant Army (LRA) and others are
a large proportion of the poachers in Africa. The LRA consist of thousands of Africans, majority
of which are young adults that were recruited. The LRA act in murder, mutilation, child sexslavery, abduction, and forcing children to partake in Hostilities. They are misguided by the

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leaders of this group and convinced at early ages to do terrible things. In regards, poaching is a
fairly simple way for them to make a lot of money very fast. Poaching is one of their main
sources of income making it one of Africas biggest problems. Africa is at war with the LRA in
hopes that they will stop them from participating in such crimes. (Tracking)
Not only will poaching kill an animal at that very instant, but, in time, it will negatively
impact populations in specific areas making it more difficult for them to reproduce. The longterm effects of this will cause shrinking of the gene pool of a given population; it will also
negatively impact the symbiotic balance that is necessary for the ecosystem to function normally.
(theproblemofpoaching.worldpress.com) Studies have directly proven that genetic erosion is
detrimental to species reproductive investment, body size, and body condition. (Luquet) This can
be seen in several areas where poaching is abundant, and can be applied to any living organism.
Elephants and Rhinos are only a few of the hundreds of animals targeted, and Africa is
not the only continent dealing with this problem. We see this in several instances on American
soil. One of the main reasons North America has seen a rise in poaching is due to the demand of
exotic animal parts it must offer to other continents. People have recently started poaching seal,
elk, bear, paddlefish caviar, bald eagles, timber wolves, water fowl, and even beetles. These
animals are all wanted for specific parts and are sold on the black market illegally. The
inefficiency of avoiding to take everything that an animal has to offer after it has been hunted is
pure ignorance. It truly shows the evil selfish side of humanity. Actions have been put into place
to slow down the pace at which poachers are killing animals, but they have not shown any
promising signs of success thus far. In fact, it has only gotten worse in America the last twenty
years. America is transforming into one of the last resources for several species only making
them even more valuable. In return, America will be substantially more susceptible for poaching.

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Supply and demand is a direct result as to why no improvements will be made in the future,
simply because the scarcer an animal the more valuable it will become. People want what they
cannot have, but some will go the extra mile to receive what they desire. (Devastating) As time
passes, certain species will continue to shrink in population whether it is natural or unnatural, it
does not matter. It essentially means that more poaching will only lead to more poaching,
ensuring that the desire to poach will remain for many years to come.
Not only is poaching detrimental to our environment, but there are also underlying
consequences impacting our daily lives that are not as easily identified. Poaching has impacted
our politics in a unique way. Many conservationists are strongly for the Trans-Pacific Partnership
which benefits the global economy by converting our market into a free trade market. However,
this agreement will uphold stricter regulations and make our global trade way more systematic.
In a sense, this is going to make it noticeably more difficult for poachers to import or export
illegal animals. With more rules and regulations implemented it creates more obstacles for
poachers to surpass. America has always had these regulations which does help with our
poaching problems, but it will specifically target problem areas such as Vietnam and Malaysia.
Vietnam is a country that specifically receives a great percent of the poached rhino horns. Before
the TPP there were little to no rules regarding poached animals on the black market for several
countries involved. Now that they are going to be upheld to a standard it may decrease the
number of poachers. (How)
On a sourer note, poaching can have negative effects on the economy. Looking at the
grand scheme of things anything that it sold on the black market effects the economy. It is much
like the ripple effect where actions of one thing will affect much of everything. Considering the
black market is totally underground, there are no taxes taken out of the items purchased. The

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black market directly takes away from government funds. It also makes it very difficult to
estimate national income on governments because they have no idea what or how much of
something is being sold. Not knowing the amount of money makes it extremely difficult to create
an effective budget. Being unable to have an accurate budget harshly effects the governments
ability to plan and implement policies for the economic development. (Pradhan) Not only does it
take away from our government funds it also negatively effects legitimate industries. The black
market is an opponent to all industries that sell or manufacture any items that are offered on the
black market. When analyzing how poaching effects economies on a smaller level the results can
be devastating. Some economies rely mostly on their wildlife to bring tourism and money to their
economy. Poaching threatens these places as it has an instant impact in terms of financial cut
backs, loss of jobs, and overall economic sustainability. (Gramm) Lastly, poaching also has a
direct correlation with health issues. Zoonotic diseases spread through the illegal selling of
animals because there are no regulations when selling items on the black market. In normal, legal
situations there are multiple steps and procedures to be walked through to ensure the animals do
not carry any harmful diseases, and if there are the animals are treated in a proper manner.
(Wasser) Unfortunately, people that poach care very little of the potential health issues. They are
happy as long as theyre making profit.
Most people can see the obvious harmful effects of poaching, but there are some that
argue in favor of it. It may sound hard to believe, however, there are certain religious groups that
view specific animals as unclean or impure and openly try to rid of them. This is the opposite of
most religions that view specific animals as sacred and do their best to conserve them. In history,
religion has fogged the eyes of people time and time again. For something that is supposed to be
positive and be for the betterment of people it is crazy to think that some religions support the

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slaughtering of innocent animals. This doesnt exclude the major religions either. The killing of
elephants in Africa is partly because religious people of Islam, Buddhism, and even Christians
have a demand for ivory. Religions promote this and may not even realize it. People use the
ivory tusk to carve out religious art sculptures. The Philippines use ivory to make baby Jesuss or
saints for Catholics; Islam uses ivory to make prayer beads for Muslims, and Egyptian Christians
use it to make Coptic crosses. (Payne) Whether it is a sculpture of Jesus, Buddha, or Allah it does
not make it justified. Elephants can easily become extinct in the next ten years! If anything, the
people of these religions should be taking a stance in favor of saving this species. It is
overwhelmingly contradicting for religions to be adding to this growing problem because
religions are expected to set good examples.

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Works Cited
The Definition of Poaching. Dictionary.com. Web. 28 April 2016.
Truesdell J. Butnam C. Remembering Cecil the Killing of a Lion King People. 84.7 (2015): 65
Masterfile Premiere. Web. 2 May 2016
FEDOTOV, YURY 1, 2. How Wildlife and Forest Crime Undermines Development and
Ravages Global Biodiversity. UN Chronicle 51.2 (2014): 13-15, Readers Guide
Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson). Web 2 May
In Cape Town, Bill Corcoran. Reserves Failing to Protect Africas Big Game, survey finds.
Irish Times 20 July 2010: Newspaper source. Web 28 April 2016
Sharma, Koustabh, et al. Tiger Poaching and Tracking in Asia: Estimating Rates of Occurrence
And Detection Over Four Decades Biological Conservation 179. (2014): 33-39.
GreenFILE Web. 2 May 2016
Tracking Ivory. How Killing Elephants Funds Terror Groups in Africa (2014): National
Geogrphic, 14 July 2014. Web. 2 May 2016
Luquet. E. et al. Within- and Among- Population Impact of Genetic Erosion on Adult FitnessRelated traits in the European Tree Frog Hyla Arborea. Heredity, vol 110.4 (2013): 347354. Acedemic search Complete. Web. 1 May 2016
The Devastating effects on Wildlife Poaching One Green Planet. N.p., N.d. Web 2 May 2016
How Free Trade Might Save the Rhinoceros 2015 Bloomsberg Businessweek, no 4441, p.

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Pradhan, Sucheta. Effects Black Market Have on Economy. Buzzle. Buzzle.com, 5 Dec. 2009
Web. 2 May 2016
Gramm, Andy. Why is poaching Such a Problem The Problems of Poaching. N.p. 21 August
2013. Web. 2 May 2016
Wasser, Samuel. Joyce Poole, and Phyllis Lee. Elephants, Ivory, and Trade Science 327,.
2016: 1331-1332. Renders Guide Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson). Web. 28 April 2016
Payne, Oliver. Religious Ivory Demands Killing Elephants by Thousands, Report Says
National Geographic National Geographic Society, N.d. Web 2 May 2016