Poaching Part One

 Poaching is a gigantic problem in many places around the world. I'm going to start with Africa and ivory, since I can't cover it all in one blog post. Let's get started.

Ivory

Ok, first off, ivory is made of keratin. Sound familiar? Well, that's because it's what your hair AND fingernails are made of. And turtle shells, bird beaks and talons, hooves, claws, pangolin scales, porcupine quills, all of that. And....horns and tusks. Why on earth are we killing rhinos and elephants for something that is the same chemical makeup as our hair and nails? Because of traditional medicine. I am NOT saying that tradition is bad, I am saying that it does in no way justify killing other animals for something that really doesn't work anyway. If you need a dietary supplement, just get it from the pharmacy. Please?  And, ivory sculptures and jewelry look the same as plaster, pretty much. And the plaster is WAY cheaper. Rhino ivory is now more expensive than diamonds or gold. That is so incredibly sad because, circling back to what I said earlier, it is all keratin, the same thing as our hair!!! If you want to sell art made of keratin, go to a hair salon and ask them for the hair clippings. Then glue it together and make a necklace, or a frame, I don't care. Just don't kill a rhino for it. 

On another note of the same octave(sorry about the metaphor, just move on), there is an all female group called the Black Mambas. They patrol the bush in nature preserves looking for snares. Snares are a completely inhumane way to catch an animal. The poachers hide the snares in bushes and they are almost invisible once set. The snares are specifically positioned in animal pathways, and when an unsuspecting animal is walking through, bam. They are stuck, and bleeding. The more they struggle, the tighter the snare gets. The animal dies of hunger and thirst, if the snare doesn't kill them first. Sometimes, the snare comes close to decapitating an animal. The Black Mambas have decreased poaching in their area by 99%. It's amazing.

Also, in a different preserve, there are special search dogs trained to follow human scent. When the handlers hear gunshots, they go to the area, and those dogs will track the poacher down. They are so good at their jobs that the poachers don't go to the areas they patrol-they know they'll get caught.

I know you may not be able to go out and stop the poachers yourselves, but knowing this is happening is really important. Education can solve huge problems. I encourage you to symbolically adopt an animal. I have done this twice-with a red panda and a panther. I am saving up to do it again with a rhino. You can too. 

-AnimalFanatic

:)