One of the main ways people transport these exotic animals across borders is by flying. Because London's Heathrow airport is a popular transfer airport in Europe, Marc Owen head of the UK Border Agency Operations at Heathrow, says each endangered animal that is transported through Heathrow should have a special marking, like a microchip. This microchip makes it easy to track the animal and helps prevent illegal selling and trading of the animal. Isaac (below), a cheetah from South Africa was being transported to Russia but was seized in Heathrow because he had a missing microchip. Isaac is being kept at a UK wildlife park while his investigation continues.
The cruel treatment and death of these beautiful animals for either their tusks or skins or just money is hard to accept. Nothing should ever be treated like some organizations treat these helpless animals. "The planet's most majestic species are being massacred for nothing nobler than vacation trinkets, hangover remedies and false promises of miracle cancer cures," said Carter Roberts, President and CEO of WWF-US.
On a brighter note, there are measures being taken to try and get rid of animal trafficking. Recently Thailand's Prime Minister announced Thailand would end their sales of ivory. With Thailand being a country with a huge exotic animal population, this is a huge step towards getting rid of animal crime. President Obama was recently in Africa and has vowed to help stop animal trafficking, presenting $10 million for the necessary training to combat African wildlife trafficking. "Poaching and trafficking is threatening Africa's wildlife" said Obama during his visit to Tanzania. With the involvement of Obama and the United States, this is yet another huge step to stopping or reducing illegal animal trafficking. The best way to help end animal crime across international borders is to spread the world and keep people educated on the subject. With more people involved around the world, supporting the end of animal trafficking, there is hope that these beautiful animals will never have to be killed just for someone to make a profit.
Great blog. I have often heard about the trafficking of ivory, but i had no idea it was on a scale so large. President Obama's commitment of 10 million dollars to stop the trafficking seems awfully small to make an impact in the market of ivory. Makes me sad.
ReplyDeleteVery sad. This issue is an environmental issue. I remember when I was in grade school and we were learning about sea animals getting stuck in the soda plastic (6-pack plastic). Of course, this was in California and animal cruelty was a death sentence. I cannot imagine how this ignorant world would destroy the most magnificent creatures of this planet. Humans truly leave horrible track behind.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, I do not see this problem halting because the 'superpowers' say so. This is a local governmental issue and needs to be handled at such. Some issues are international. Have you ever seen the movie, "The Cove"? It is a documentary (I think from an actor starring on 'Flipper') about Japan's dirty little secret. Japan has a small town where dolphins are slaughtered. The ocean water turns blood red. The real problem, lies in the meat of the dolphins. It is filled with high amounts of mercury making it deadly in the long run. Well, the maker of the movie continued to make his presence known (at international conventions and such) and has brought this issue to the public. This is a local issue (which the local government was in on) that had to be brought to the international attention. It is not only a dolphin threat, but a human threat. People are eating meat that is not safe for consumption.