wild life is in danger...

Poaching is the illegal hunting, killing or capturing of animals. This can occur in a variety of ways. Poaching can refer to the failure to comply with regulations for legal harvest, resulting in the illegal taking of wildlife that would otherwise be allowable. Examples include: Taking without a license or permit, use of a prohibited weapon or trap, taking outside of the designated time of day or year, and taking of a prohibited sex or life stage.

Poaching can also refer to the taking of animals from a gazzetted wildlife sanctuary, such as a national park, game reserve, or zoo. Most countries enforce various sanctions on the hunting of wild animals, and international controls, such as bans, restrictions and monitored trade, are all aimed at controlling poaching. However, it is important to note that hunting, under specific regulations, is in fact often permitted in designated game preserves.

E.g. situation

Uganda is rich in wildlife resources. Wildlife occurs in both protected areas and on ungazetted private lands. There are four types of wildlife protected areas, and they are classified according to the degree of protection accorded. Uganda has ten national parks, ten wildlife reserves, seven wildlife sanctuaries and 13 community wildlife areas. The national parks occupy about 11,150 square kilometers (km2) or 4.6% of the country; wildlife reserves occupy about 8760 km2 or 3.6%, consisting primarily of grassland with patches of dry woodlands and scrubland; and wildlife sanctuaries cover 850 km2 or 0.35% of the country and are made up of areas of different sizes designed for specific conservation purposes.

Several of the sanctuaries have been gazetted to afford particular protection to single species of national or global importance. Community wildlife areas, originally known as controlled hunting areas, occupy about 27,600 km2 or 11.4% of Uganda. Illegal hunting, wars and poaching have reduced most of Ugandas wildlife to near extinction. The majority of the animals are hunted down for the various reasons noted above. As a result of civil wars in the region, many animals have migrated to neighboring countries. At times, these animals stray to settled areas and are killed.
Source: Selected animal populations in Uganda,1960-2003.

Reasons

Humans and their ancestors have hunted for over 400,000 years. Historically, hunting has played an important role in leadership, community formation, language development, and tool use. While primitive humans relied largely upon hunting for food, the agricultural revolution (approximately 10,000 years ago) reduced the need for survival hunting in most parts of the world. Hunting has continued, however, for several reasons, and poaching remains a possibility wherever hunting is an important part of the economy or culture.



Animal products, such as hide, ivory, horn, teeth and bone, are sold to dealers who make clothes, jewelry and other materials from them. In some African and Latin American societies, animals are poached for game meat. In Congo, for example, wild monkey meat is sold in the open market, and in many parts of North America, white-tailed deer is hunted for food.

Some animals have religious value and are used as totems and in witchcraft. For example, among the Banyoro, Baganda and Batooro of West and Central Uganda, the king traditionally sits on a leopard skin. Many tribes in Congo consider leopard skin a symbol of magic, and many witch doctors in the region use these skins to show their powers. Many animals are killed for ceremonial purposes, such as cleansing a bad omen, asking gods for rain, etc.



Animals are also believed to be a source of local herbs and have medicinal value. For example, it is believed by some Lendu in Eastern Congo that the lion’s liver cures skin diseases, and it is also used as a poison. Mbuti pygmies of Western Uganda and Eastern Congo are said to use snake poison on their fighting arrows. Animals in the developing world are also hunted as vermin by communities that leave near forests and game parks. The aim is to kill the animals and stop them from encroaching on farms. Hunting for sport is also practiced in various nations. Though most of it is controlled, illegal sport hunting is common in developing countries. Many sport hunters keep the animals as trophies.

Effects

While poaching has various effects, its most direct impact is extinction, either globally or within a given locality. Poaching has also been associated with the spread of disease, both in animals and humans. In Congo, for example, it is believed that the Ebola virus was transmitted to people who fed on monkeys and other primates, who then transmitted the disease to other human beings. In Uganda, the outbreak of Anthrax in early 2000 was associated with people eating or transporting infected animals from Queen Elizabeth National Park.

IF BUYING STOPS, THE KILLING TOO

This is just a glimpse of the problem that we are facing in the whole world today. As we can see the cases in Uganda itself had shown us that the matters are getting serious everyday, No matter the reason why an animal is killed, all types of hunting or poaching have led to extinction of species, and if uncontrolled many more animals will become extinct. We need to act fast in order for our next generation to had a better life in the future as we know that most of the ecosystems in the world had its own role and each and every of living things in the world plays a part in making the ecosystem to be stable and also to ensuring the existing of the world as it is today.

It is our responsible to make sure that all the killing stops, to do so the simples’ thing that we can do is to stop demanding for products that had to do with killing of these protected animals. With no demand there will be no supply and this will contribute to reducing the killings, act now!
Save the animals! Save our planet! One act at a time does make a difference.