Illegal Wildlife Trade: The Fourth Most Lucrative in the World

By: Daniela Silva

Behind a booming black market, drug trafficking, and the horrors of human trafficking the Illegal wildlife trade has become the fourth most lucrative trade in the world. There has been a unforeseen rise in poaching in recent years, threatening to diminish all the conservation efforts and successes of previous and future years to come. This being said, the illegal wildlife trade is worth $19 billion dollars and increasing as well as taking the lives of many endangered and critically endangered species. China, a country well known for the mass consumption of endangered species has now made it a criminal offense to eat an endangered species; it is now punishable by 10 years in prison.

Eating endangered animals and a various array of their parts has been believed to have contain various medicinal properties for generations in china; which in turn have been the base for illegal wildlife trade. The rhinoceros in our lifetime may become a thing of our past, simply because its horn is believed to cure cancer, cure hangovers, and used as an aphrodisiac. Despite this, Rhinoceroses aren't the only animal that are susceptible to extreme poaching. Tigers, bantengs, grevy's zebras, sunbears, Chinese alligators, tortoises, and many more are being killed for trade. What will it take to keep endangered species from becoming taxidermied in a national museums years to come?

Conservations and future successes may find themselves facing more difficulties as poachers try and cut corners to attempt to meet the demand for consumers eager for the produce they have been able to have access to for so many generations. Hopefully, China's new law is the change we need to see to help see the end in the poaching and killing of our endangered species.

The Demise of the Queen

By: Daniela Silva
The beautiful plight of the monarch may be coming to an end, the species are dying out and yes, we can witness the extinction of a wonderful species within our lifetime. Due to the  heavy destruction of the milkweed plant the monarchs have already declined by 44% of their population becoming a critically endangered species.

The steady extinction of the species don't just affect the pollination of flora, but it also affects tourism and the jobs of many in California and mexico, where the Monarchs are big business; but what is killing the butterflies?

GMO corn,soybean crops and GMO herbicides is one of the  leading problems of the butterflies resulting in the destruction of  a majority of the milkweed plants which is the only plant the eggs can be laid on as well. With Monsanto owning 90% of the worlds crops, there is a limited amount of space for the monarch to actually flourish, which leaves it up to us, the people to take control and do something about it.

Peace in pieces.

Syrian peace talks no longer justify the amount of deaths that occur in Syria, at least 100 people a day lose their lives in the attempt to make the most out of the rubble they used to call home.
With the last peace talk on Friday, the number of deaths a day have not declined, and many are still suffering in the hands of the government. On February 1st, oil drums full of explosives and tightly packed shrapnel were used against the Syrian people by the government; a cruel war crime indeed. These Shrapnel packed oil drums have now taken the lives of 700 people, and since 2011, the war itself has costed the lives of more than 130,000 people and is responsible for the homelessness of over 6 million people.

Suffocating among the dead.

By: Daniela Silva
To an inspector's dismay over 1600 animals were found tightly packed in crates in a south african airport earlier today. The smell had caught the inspectors attention and he immediately opened it to discover hundreds upon hundreds of reptiles and amphibians crammed into small containers with other species. One third of the animals were found dead and decomposing, crates and boxes included  vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered species. Many are in critical state but are slowly but surely stabilizing, some may not recover.

It is believed that the animals are supplied from Madagascar; a country that is well known for its diverse multitude of wildlife and was destined to arrive at the united states. It is believed that the animals were predestined to be sold in exotic pet markets. It is being determined whether or not this it animal cruelty, however it should not difficult to conclude.

Animal cruelty is an appalling reality in our world. We have a duty to protect innocent beings, and this should not be limited to our people. Many animals could not turn around  in these containers, nor were they given food or water for their journey. These animals were left for five days in conditions that had taken the lives of many due to cannibalism, organ failure, dehydration and skin infections from the decomposing animals beneath them.