Poaching has been an issue in our society for far too long. Animals have been preyed on for body parts by humans for many different reasons, including medicinal, economical, and cultural reasons. There is one animal, however, that is poached more than any other animal and yet most people don’t even know what they look like when they hear the name. These mammals are called Pangolins. Pangolins have hard scales that make up the exterior of their body. These scales are commonly harvested for “traditional medicine, fashion, and even eaten in high end cuisine.” Their scales are made of keratin, which is the same thing that our hair and nails are made of. There is absolutely no reason to destroy an entire species of mammals based on the fact that certain people consider the scales imperative for their use, even though they have daily access to the resource the scales are made of.
Pangolins have been on the decline for decades now and they may soon face extinction if this issue is not brought to light. “More than one million pangolins have been poached in the past decade.” Even though it is so clearly against all laws to hunt and sell these innocent creatures, they are constantly in demand on the black market and criminals find loopholes and ways around any enforcement that may protect them. In one incident, “4.4 tonnes of pangolin scales confiscated… valued at 1.25 million dollars.” It is insane to murder so many of these animals for the sake of money.
This issue relates to our class because a huge part of what we learned is sustainability. A part of understanding sustainability is understanding that our actions have consequences. We can not murder any animals because of our selfish ways. Pangolins play an essential role in the ecosystem. They tend to the soil and they are considered, “all-natural pest control.” They improve the soil’s quality by digging into the ground and mixing everything around. “Their underground burrows also provide habitat for other animals.” It is important to value these animals so that they may allow our world to prosper.
I have very strong convictions against poaching any type of animal, especially when they are imperative for a healthy environment. I’ve attached an article about the poaching of pangolins and how we can help below.*
Before reading this article I genuinely had no idea what a Pangolin was, this to me proves that many animals are in danger and not many people are aware of it. It's sad to me that humans can poach animals without any type of remorse, I hope that can change in the near future.
ReplyDeleteI like how you linked the scale composition to human hair and nails. This goes to show how many facts are often ignored in traditional medicine. Poaching is a cruel activity and those who partake in it have no care for biodiversity.
ReplyDeleteI also did not know what a Pangolin was before reading this. Pangolin poaching seems to be a huge problem that is crucial to fix. It's interesting they are poached the most when their shell doesn't seem to have many uses.
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