A Dream for a Better World

Gray wolves in the US Rocky Mountains are back on the endangered species list after four months unlisted.  The US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) decreed in March that the wolf population, in the western states of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, no longer needed federal oversight. Wolf control passed to the states, which made plans to open hunting season on the predators this fall. Environmental groups sued.  In a recent finding, a judge sided with the environmentalists, temporarily putting wolves back on the list until the court case is finished.  Gray wolves are still considered endangered in the rest of the continental U.S., except in a region around the Great Lakes.

Last May 2008, six sea lions have been found shot in Oregon, presumably as a result of annoyed fishermen blaming the animals for a lack of fish.  The January before, US federal officials recommended killing about 30 nuisance sea lions a year in the river, to keep them from gobbling up salmon. Officials went ahead with that, but in the face of a lawsuit from the Humane Society, they have been instead trapping animals and transporting them to nearby zoos. It looks like someone took advantage of these traps to shoot the captive animals before they could be spirited away.  The trapping program has been entirely put on hold while the killings are investigated.

South Africa has lifted a 13-year ban on elephant culling, to help manage the flourishing pachyderm population.  Elephants were once close to being wiped out in many parts of the continent, but have more than doubled in number in South Africa since 1995.  A government assessment report suggests this could lead to the loss of crops and infrastructure and the infection of livestock as a result of elephants having breached veterinary fences, thus allowing the mingling of wildlife and domestic stock and direct injury or loss of human life.  Culling, with strict provisos, has been legalized as a last resort, the government asserts. Some conservationists have condemned the action, warning that it may encourage ivory poachers and could threaten populations elsewhere.

In an alarming report released by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFR), large mammal species such as elephants and gorillas could be wiped out within 50 years in Central Africa if bush meat hunting is not curbed.  Up to 1million tons of bush meat is consumed in this area annually.  But experts warn that an outright ban on bush meat hunting will have dire consequences on the rural poor.  Bush meat provides up to 80% of protein and fat in rural diets and there are no acceptable substitutes if a blanket ban on hunting is executed.  The report recommends that policies should be developed to both protect endangered species and allow sustainable hunting of common game.  One of the keys to resolving the problem is to differentiate between rural poor hunting to survive and those using bush meat for commercial purposes.   

A recent report affirms that South Africa’s rhinoceros population is under imminent danger due to the dramatic increase of rhino deaths by poachers this year.  An alarming 12 white rhinos have been shot, a sharp increase of just two or three killed in previous years.  The rhinos’ valuable horns are harvested and sold on the black-market where there is a huge demand in Asia, particularly China, for the horns’ so-called medicinal and aphrodisiacal qualities.  South Africa’s biggest game reserve, Kruger National Park, last year also reported a slow and steady increase in rhino killings – at least 70 over six years.

Animal hunting is a menace that several governments are trying to fight around the world. Animals are hunting mostly for money and in some cases even for pleasure. Trading in various body parts of animals is an international trade these days. One of the best ways to stop animal hunting would be to stop buying a product that uses any of the body parts of animals. Concerned authorities should also increase vigil against hunting of animals in forests. Similarly governments should come out with tougher laws to stop indiscriminate hunting of animals. All these acts would act as a deterrent to hunting of animals and would help save several species from total extinction.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the latest attempt by the Canadian governmental bodies to find an excusable avenue for the mindless slaughter of seal pups. Somehow, the scientists in Canada have a different idea to what exactly is a fish than the rest of the world. Seals in Canada are classified as “Fish”. Considering the biological differences between fish and mammals I find this truly remarkable. And why have they listed such a confounding statement – because animals on the Canadian fish list are not considered capable of feeling pain, suffering or fear. I fear what they teach in the biology classes in the schools there – but at least that feeling of fear means I wouldn’t be classed as a fish in Canada!

In this modern day and age, how do we justify the murderous “sport” of fox hunting? How can anyone find it acceptable for upper class socialites to canter around on their pure bred horses while they let a pack of dogs track down and rip a tiny fox to shreds? Every year the government tried to ban the sport, but with the British House of Lords having the final say on any rule, it took an exceptional amount of time to finally put the bill through. One small animal against a pack, and with the ultimate action being ravaged by several frenzied dogs – how can anyone find this acceptable?

  Nowadays, people always think about themselves, and seldom care about the animals around them. They are also living things like human being. Unfortunately, some animals were hunted, eaten and even sold. This is an abominable thing which despised the animal. In order to prevent hunting animals, we should take some actions to protect them and punish the criminals. First, the animal’s habitat should be built in a quiet and clear place. Then, volunteers are needed to work for the association of protecting animal. To propagate the knowledge of protecting animals to people is also very important.

                                                                              Helen

Animals are our friends !
The hunters hunt the animal like elephants, tigers, bears, giant pandas, reindeers, and different kinds of birds. They do it just for money. They cut the elephants’ ivory, tigers’ teeth, reindeers’ antlers, bears’ paw and most of the animals’ fur. Because of it the numbers of animals become small and small.
Stop doing it, animals always help us, but we do nothing and hurt them.

In these years, the environment is damaged by the humans very seriously. The factories make so much poisonous air that many trees and rivers are full of harmful things. The animals are also facing the loss of their home. Many hunters hunt the animal for its fur and bones. They only want money, but don’t care the damage that they did. We can’t see the clear water in the rivers and the lakes and we also can’t see the birds flying in the sky. All the damage that the humans have done totally changed the face of the environment. I don’t want to see the tears on the animals face.I don’t want to see the bodies of the fish floating on the rivers and lakes.I just want everybody give a hand to protect the environment before it is too late!Please give us the original face of the environment!

Cats, dogs, pigs,birds and even sheep are all human’s friends.We are fair on the erath,we dont have the right to kill anything that i think so.

The unnescesary hunting of animals is harmful to the environment from which they come. If an animal becomes rare or endangered in an area, then any other animals or plants in that environment are also affected, due to the disruption of the food chain. For instance, if a major prey animal dies out, then all its preditors will also suffer form starvation. Also, if all the preditors are wiped out, the prey will become overpopulated, and use all of thier food.

The prevention of hunting animals to extinction is a very important thing that we all need to do. If one animal becomes extinct it will inevitably lead to the extinction of other animals connected to the original in the food chain. The more animals that become extinct, the worse the world’s situation will become.

I think as sentinent human beings we could learn only to hunt the animals that we need to eat and let the other animals take care of themselves. Anthother possibility is that we could breed animals just for

Animals are our future, so if we kill all the cuddly and different creatures we will live in a very boring world. Is this statement a fair summary of the reasons for conserving the animal population, or is it a simplistic, rubbish argument?

hunting animals mustbe abandon, if not ,wo we will be punished by the earth~~

If you dongt believe it, u can have a try,but u will be punished one day~

I just cannot see how they can justify that? Yes, people want to make a living but my goodness there has to be limits. What do they do with all of this fur? Why don’t they eat the seal also? Why not try to sell the meat of the seals to avoid waste? Do they really sell enough seal fur products to justify the killing of all these animals? The idea of killing baby anythings is heartbreaking to me.