The Pros And Cons Of The Animal Trade

When I was a child, one of my favorite places was the zoo. I loved to look at the beautiful animals and all the different species that the zoo possessed. As a child, I never realized how much these magnificent animals were threatened to extinction because of the wild animal trade. Animal trafficking, also known as the Animal Trade, is one of the harshest crimes and biggest industries, affecting ecosystems, the environment, and humans worldwide. Animal Trafficking is hands-down a growing industry. The Animal Trade is considered to be the third most profitable illicit commerce on the globe. It’s guessed that the industry is worth $10 billion a year (Smithsonian). One might be surprised by this considering that the animal trade seems so small
and unnoticeable, but in reality it is a huge and growing problem worldwide. Once one sees the facts and statistics, it might open their eyes to what is happening around them. According to the World Wildlife study, fifty-two percent of wild organism populations have vanished around the globe since 1970 (Nuwer). It’s hard to believe that such a huge percentage of the global animal population can disappear so quickly. At this rate, how will things become in the future? The question is, where does this happen and what animals are being targeted?
The two main countries that most animal trafficking happens in are Kenya and China. Kenya is in control of most of the wild elephant trade, while China is in control of the tiger and rhino trade (Worland). Trafficking in elephants and rhinos has doubled from 2007 to 2013 to meet the demand of ivory (elephant tusk) and rhino horn. During this increase of demand, one thousand park rangers have been murdered by poachers in the past decade (Walsh, Save). These mercenary poachers kill so easily for their money prize. A prize, so outrageous, would surprise anyone. Elephant tusk is worth $1,000 per pound and rhino horn, which is believed to have healing powers, is worth $30,000 per pound (Nuwer). These outrageous prices make the animal trade a great career for common people that need a good paycheck.
Animal buyers are very determined to get the animals products, no matter how difficult. Some trading is easily accessed through the internet. Some sellers are so out in the open that they have facebook pages. While some others just use websites like “liveautioneers.com” to sell their items. In fact, up to $13 million dollars is transferred through “liveautioneers.com” yearly (Nuwer). The internet makes selling animal parts and exotic pets extremely easy. The easy access from consumer to poacher is very new and easy. An industry that used to be difficult and hard to reach is now accessible with the click of a button. This is one of the reasons why the demand for poaching is now higher. In fact, over half a million shipments containing more than 1.48 million alive animals have been imported by the United States of America since the year of 2000. Not only do these shipments hold animals, but they also hold many unknown animal diseases that are not native to the United States (Mooney, Cleland). EXPAND<<<
A big part of the animal trade is the distribution of exotic pets and species.
Some animals are placed in different environments because of experiments, by accident, or on purpose for entertainment reasons, like pets. Approximately 50,000 thousand alien species live in the U.S. The invasive animals placed into ecosystems outside of their hometown are able to over-compete the native flora and fauna. Invasive species are the second biggest threat toward endangered species and cost the United States an estimated $120 billion annually in damages (Walsh, Invasive). Invasive species go all the way back to the age of exploration (Mooney, Cleland). The fact is that if trade between countries is high then there will end up being more invasive species. Non-native species can be introduced by complete accident and trade is a very easy way for this to happen. The city of San Francisco in California had an estimated one new animal introduced per year from 1851-1960. Then once the animal trade started to accelerate, San Francisco saw three new animals per year from 1961-1995 (Mooney, Cleland). The effect of the animal trade is very obvious on the ecosystems of any many places worldwide. Some other examples of places in the United States that are affected by invasive species are Montana and Arizona. The two states used to have no fish species in common at all. Now, Montana and Arizona have 33 fish species in common. The change in animal species is very fast and big. Most biotic environments have completely changed after five generations. Some places are affected a lot more by the animal trade than others. New Zealand for instance has just as many alien plants as they native plants (Mooney, Cleland). It’s not only animals and plants that can be completely alien to environments, insects can too. Insects like the Emerald Ash Borer, from Asia, and the Asian Long-haired Beetle, from Japan, Korea, and China, are very harmful to the ecosystems of the United States. They are specifically
harmful to the trees that they lay their larvae in. The Emerald Ash Borer specifically is currently putting eight billion trees in danger because of their harmful larvae (Walsh, Space). Invasive species are not only harmful to the plants and animals of the earth but they can also be harmful to humans through disease and infection. A Monkeypox virus spread in the United States in the year of 2003. Pet prairie dogs that were infected by imported African Rodents, because of the exotic pet trade, infected humans and caused an outbreak in the Monkeypox Virus. There were 72 human cases because of this. CDC and FDA made regulations that restricted domestic trade and importation of African Rodents because of this.(Smith). Invasive species that can be easily traded from country to country using the animal trade can easily affect the lives of people and the health of animals and plants.
One of the harshest crimes and biggest industries, animal trafficking, affects the ecosystems, the environment, and humans worldwide. It’s very important and extremely urgent that we stop animal trafficking and trading for the health of our ecosystems and ourselves. Poaching is not worth the result it will bring. We must look to the future and make sure that our actions can be resolved or if they will end up haunting us. Animals are a very important part of our world and without them we would be nothing. It’s only fair that we treat them with respect and compassion. Our ever-changing earth due to the animal trade is delicate and beautiful. End the war on animals and their resources before it’s too late and we have to pay the price.