Africa
Animal trafficking in Africa
In the last decade a cruel business is becoming one of the more famous illicit businesses, called animal trafficking. As the name says it consists in poaching animals and taking advantage of some of their parts that nowadays are being sold in high prices.
“The life exporting industry claims to have the highest standards in the world"1
Animal trafficking didn’t start only about two years ago, but many years before that. The illegal trade of wild animals is taking place in the world worst that ever, and influencing our new society to do illegal businesses and just to survive and keep our selves satisfied. But it’s gloomy to know that these people can not understand what they are doing; there will come the day that this species would be totally extinct and people won’t have a job anymore or maybe a life, just because they don’t know anything despite killing animals and destroying their own social economy and tourism.
Most of the continents use this business because Wildlife trafficking is a lucrative business. Continents such as Asia and Australia are in the top list, but Africa is known as the continent with most animal trafficking, destroying a lot of species with it, like rhinos, elephants, cheetah, chimpanzee, mountain zebra, leopard, and buffalos; and decreasing in populations on tourism. The illicit activity became more important than drug and weapon smuggling. Those animals are taken from their natural habitats and being culled for different continents.
Nowadays Africa is suffering a big chaos because of illegal animal trafficking, it is decimating many species causing their extinction. The most affected animals are the mammals such as Africans elephants, black rhinoceros, lions, Chimpanzee, mountain zebra, birds and Cheetah. Each animal is chosen for a special feature, some examples that can be seen are the skin of the birds, crocodiles, snakes, zebra, Cheetah and rabbits also lion’s teeth, a varieties of bird’s feathers and rhinoceros horn. The one with the highest demand is the elephant tusk.
The most popular animal is the African elephant. It is bigger than the Asian. Males stand 3.6m (12ft) and his weight is 5,400kg (12,000lb) while females stand 3m (9.8ft) and the weight is between 3,600kg and 4600kg (79,00lb and 10,000lb).
Some Species that have been affected:
African bush elephant (loxodonta Africana)
Modern African elephants
Loxodonta Atlantic (Extinct)
Loxodonta exaptata (Extinct)
This animal is being exploited because of their ivory horn; it’s a profitable business with prices, depending of their size as:
Elephant Ivory Long Points
Item# elephant-ivory-points62510
Regular price: $220.00
Sale price: $199.95
Item# elephant-ivory-points62510
Regular price: $220.00
Sale price: $199.95
Leaving the elephant aside, we will now move on to the rhino. The rhino stands 140-170cm height at the shoulder and is 3.3-3.6m in length, it weights from 800 to 1400kg.The females are smaller than the males. The rhino has been poaching because of his horn that is made of keratin, the longest known horn measures is about 1.5m in length. They use also for medicine that contains rhinoceros horn and is used as an analgesic, antichloristic, antidotal and to promote blood circulation; but scientist studies have found no proof that the rhino horn is an effective medicine. On the last years this became a expensive business getting over gold costs. Now a kilo of rhino’s horn stands approximately 60,000 US dollars while a kilo of gold is a little over 40,600 US dollars.
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Trade
![Picture](/uploads/5/0/1/7/5017871/1474079.jpg)
rhinos
-the U.S. is one of the biggest consumers, making up 30 percent of global trading#.
All the things considered, this lucrative business is getting more powerful within the years. Traffickers don’t care that those animals one day could be extinct. The have no idea how it will affect economic areas such as tourism, because animals are dying and people wouldn’t be interested on those attractions anymore.
In our own opinion this has no sense because even though people earn money easily, it doesn’t help the development of the country. This is a selfish way to act.
All the things considered, this lucrative business is getting more powerful within the years. Traffickers don’t care that those animals one day could be extinct. The have no idea how it will affect economic areas such as tourism, because animals are dying and people wouldn’t be interested on those attractions anymore.
In our own opinion this has no sense because even though people earn money easily, it doesn’t help the development of the country. This is a selfish way to act.
News:
*In Zimbabwe: in October of 2009, 11 elephants were killed in the chizarira national park. In January of this year a further of 17 elephants were killed in the hwange national park.
*Huge ivory selzure in Africa: In Thursday, Dec 3/2009 More than 2 tons of illegal ivory have been seized and more than 100 people have been arrested in the largest international operation targeting wildlife crime across eastern Africa.(Kenya wildlife service & Interpol announced)
*The ZAWA (Zambian wildlife authorities) reported that they confiscated 146 elephant’s tusks.
*The University of Washington report a DNA test showed that most of the ivory from a massive 6.5 Ton seizure made in Singapore were from Elephant tusk for this were killed the among of 3.000-6.500 Elephants.
*In Netherlands in June of this year were nearly 41 tons of ivory that have been confiscated in different parts of the world.
*41.043kg of elephant tusk have been confiscated in two years.
Tusk weight 3.48kg= 1.88 Tusk per elephant= 5932 death elephants.
*274 tons of ivory were in trade= 39.550 Death elephants
*In Monday/Aug 25/2008 Congo officer arrested 4 baby chimp sales in this case is a member of the army that was trying to sale a baby chimp.
*In Tuesday July 7/2009 trafficking ivory has become one of the most lucrative illegal trades in Africa (bigger than drugs in Africa).From the AFP
*At least 70 Rhinos have been killed in Kruger national park.
*Criminals in possession of 44 rhino horns have been arrested in the past two years.
*There are some varieties of methods to slaughter animals such as firearms, wire, snares and gin traps this are some tools that the poachers used to cause the agonist of thousands of animals.
“Trafficking in species is mostly tolerates by society, and that means that the perpetrator is not pursued by the authorities a much as the drugs or arm traffickers”
United Nations environment programmed.
*Huge ivory selzure in Africa: In Thursday, Dec 3/2009 More than 2 tons of illegal ivory have been seized and more than 100 people have been arrested in the largest international operation targeting wildlife crime across eastern Africa.(Kenya wildlife service & Interpol announced)
*The ZAWA (Zambian wildlife authorities) reported that they confiscated 146 elephant’s tusks.
*The University of Washington report a DNA test showed that most of the ivory from a massive 6.5 Ton seizure made in Singapore were from Elephant tusk for this were killed the among of 3.000-6.500 Elephants.
*In Netherlands in June of this year were nearly 41 tons of ivory that have been confiscated in different parts of the world.
*41.043kg of elephant tusk have been confiscated in two years.
Tusk weight 3.48kg= 1.88 Tusk per elephant= 5932 death elephants.
*274 tons of ivory were in trade= 39.550 Death elephants
*In Monday/Aug 25/2008 Congo officer arrested 4 baby chimp sales in this case is a member of the army that was trying to sale a baby chimp.
*In Tuesday July 7/2009 trafficking ivory has become one of the most lucrative illegal trades in Africa (bigger than drugs in Africa).From the AFP
*At least 70 Rhinos have been killed in Kruger national park.
*Criminals in possession of 44 rhino horns have been arrested in the past two years.
*There are some varieties of methods to slaughter animals such as firearms, wire, snares and gin traps this are some tools that the poachers used to cause the agonist of thousands of animals.
“Trafficking in species is mostly tolerates by society, and that means that the perpetrator is not pursued by the authorities a much as the drugs or arm traffickers”
United Nations environment programmed.
Bibliography :
1. http://candobetter.org/node/604
2. Pictures Of Elephant Parts:www.elephantivorytusks.com/
3. Rhino prices: http://www.osmun.com/prod/Schmid/schmprc.htm
4. http://www.wbais.org/~timemun/issues/animal.htm
https://web.uvic.ca/~repa/publications/REPA%20working%20papers/WorkingPaper2008-08.pdf
http://scienceblogs.com/zooillogix/2008/10/the_economics_of_the_ivory_tra.php
http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1126-hance_rhino_gold.html
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/over-50-of-large-african-animals-declined-in-game-parks.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/16320m-of-ivory-seized-as-poachers-return-to-their-prey-1668855.html
http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2005/~/media/Content/National%20Wildlife%20Magazine%20Layouts/2005/elephants_spreads02.ashx?w=534&h=351&as=1
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_REvuyDqcKX8/TEfZhI-MRcI/AAAAAAAABXk/82LDeC_9IX4/s1600/muerte-trafico-marfil-elefantes.jpg
http://classicalvalues.com/archives/003867.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO0NyQugkg8
1. http://candobetter.org/node/604
2. Pictures Of Elephant Parts:www.elephantivorytusks.com/
3. Rhino prices: http://www.osmun.com/prod/Schmid/schmprc.htm
4. http://www.wbais.org/~timemun/issues/animal.htm
https://web.uvic.ca/~repa/publications/REPA%20working%20papers/WorkingPaper2008-08.pdf
http://scienceblogs.com/zooillogix/2008/10/the_economics_of_the_ivory_tra.php
http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1126-hance_rhino_gold.html
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/over-50-of-large-african-animals-declined-in-game-parks.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/16320m-of-ivory-seized-as-poachers-return-to-their-prey-1668855.html
http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2005/~/media/Content/National%20Wildlife%20Magazine%20Layouts/2005/elephants_spreads02.ashx?w=534&h=351&as=1
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_REvuyDqcKX8/TEfZhI-MRcI/AAAAAAAABXk/82LDeC_9IX4/s1600/muerte-trafico-marfil-elefantes.jpg
http://classicalvalues.com/archives/003867.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO0NyQugkg8
Sara Aguirre, Melissa Lopez, Juanita Jaramillo 12°
Editor: Miguel Angel López