1000 Flowers for the Planet- #290 Fight Poaching
Poaching is an ever-increasing disaster in a world that cares more for
unscientific potions and sexual prowess than it does for the sanctity of life. But
how can we prevent it, besides giving animals bodyguards? (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/9525512/Rhinos-under-24-hour-armed-guard.html)
Putting a stop to it is a complicated business, but it needs our attention and
support. Poaching is BIG business, and makes a lot of money. Laws against
poaching exist in some areas, but the ramifications are too insignificant to be
a deterrent to the practice. Re-education is probably the best way to approach
the problem, from the people who actually kill the animals to the people who
buy the body parts and the people who are the end users of products such as
tiger bone wine, medicines made with tiger whiskers and aphrodisiacs made from
rhinoceros tusks, to name just a few examples. The benefits have been
scientifically proven to be non-existent. We need to educate the end users that
these products can be replaced by synthetic or other more sustainable
ingredients. Only by eliminating the demand can we eradicate poaching.
Education is the way, opened by mature dialogue by intelligent people with
intelligent listeners. The poachers themselves need to be redirected into other
lucrative employment, which may be as simple as making the existence of the
animals a tourist attraction.
The biggest problem is corruption – and I don’t think I have the answer
for that. But if enough people educate themselves sufficiently, and put enough
pressure on the end users of animal products, we may be able to make a
difference. And why do we need to do this? Imagine if our grandchildren were
never able to see a rhino or an elephant? It may even be our children who never
get to see some species. What right do we have to slaughter any species until they
are all gone? Let’s start fighting to eliminate poaching, and save the animals.
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