Why are those Animals Being Sent Away to the Black Market?

Figure 1: All the animals in the ship.

 In the bottom of a shipping boat, Stephanie the Sea Turtle, Tommy the Tiger, Rachel the Rhino, and Ellie the Elephant are behind bars. Rachel the Rhino asks Ellie, "What are you in here for?". Ellie answers nervously, "They're going to make me into decoration and old traditional medicines!". "They're going to make me into a carpet!" shouts Tommy the Tiger. Rachel also starts to cry saying she too will become decoration and medicine. Stephanie the Sea Turtle then tries to settle everyone down and convince them not to freak out. "Why do the humans do this to us?" says Tommy. None of the animals can understand why and have to continue their endless journey wondering. 

Figure 2: Ellie the Elephant playing around.

These animals are sent to animal prison because of an illegal trade called the Black Market. The black market is when people from different parts of the world, typically China, Africa, and the United States, trade animals and their parts for adults selfish needs. Here in the US, people buy Ellie the Elephant's tusks from auctions to then sell to people in China where they will use in medicine (2). Ellie uses her tusks for digging, lifting things and defending herself (4). All of these qualities are natural survival tools that are essential for her and the rest of her elephant friends. However, in China, people use the tusks for ivory, medicine, and decoration. With the rate of elephants dying from the black market, there are only 415,000 left in the world. Ellie and her family is usually one of the first animals you learn about when you are younger and it is scary to think they almost extinct from this planet. 

Figure 3: Stephanie and her
friends.

Figure 2: Rachel showing off
her horn.

If you do not wish to read more about how and why adults kill animals, then please skip this paragraph and continue on the next. Other animals popular on the black market are turtles, tigers, and rhinos. All these animals are on the endangered species list. An endangered species is an animal that is close to completely being gone from the planet but still has a chance to repopulate if we contribute to the cause.  Sadly, Stephanie the Sea turtle and her friends, seen in figure 3, are used for skin boots or pain killers like Tylenol (1). Sea Turtles of all types are very vulnerable and can not defend themselves making Stephanie an easy target. Using exotic ingredients in medicine is very common in Asia. In Vietnam, it is believed that the Rhino horns, as seen in figure 2, can cure cancer (2). Rhino horns have still not been scientifically proven to cure any diseases or cancers. Rachel the Rhino and her family have been on the endangered species list for years and continue to decrease in number due to high demand in Asia. There are only 100,000 Rhinos left in the world. Another popular item on the black market are tiger bones. Tommy the Tiger's bones are also known for curing diseases and cancers. Some people will buy tiger bones even though they do not have any sickness. Buyers will buy it for the future to make sure they have the supplies

Figure 4: Tommy the Tiger relaxing.

 just in case (3). These buyers are part of the reason for the tigers' dangerously low population numbers. There are only 7,200 tigers left. As figure 4 shows and studies have proven, there are more tigers in captivity than in the wild (1). We all love to go to the zoo to watch Tommy the tiger and all his friends hanging out but they were meant to be in the wild in their natural habitat. All of these animals once traveled the land with they're family without harm and it is our responsibility to help them roam the earth again.

Figure 5: Our happy world. 

    

Luckily, you have the power to change and fight the black market! You can help Stephanie the Sea Turtle, Tommy the Tiger, Ellie the Elephant and Rachel the Rhino with these next steps. If you're out shopping with your family and you see your mommy looking at elephant tusks for decoration in your living room, tell her no. Inform her that buying the tusks is a bad thing. This might seem like a small thing to you but you would be helping out Ellie in a big way. Another way you can help the animals and fight the black market is to tell your family about the World Wildlife Fund. If your parents are looking to donate for a cause, tell them about the animals and their fight for their lives. Donating to this fund would help the adults in the program with supplies and money for research to help end the black market. It up to you and I know you won't let the animals down!

Here's the link to the World Wildlife Fund for more information and the opportunity to donate : https://support.worldwildlife.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=main_monthly&s_src=AWE1707OQ18299A01409RX&_ga=2.231088287.1048059483.1493760368-527848234.1492024543 

References 

(1) Christian, S. (2015, March). Where the U.S. Government Keeps Confiscated Animal Parts; The black-market wildlife trade is growing--as is the stock at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Newsweek LLC,163(10),46-47. Retrieved from InfoTrac Junior Edition.

(2) Gay, M. (2011, September 7). White Rhino, Black Market. Atlantic Media, Inc. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/command/detail?vid=22&sid=6a719661-d2b9-422d-bdf9-05708f2ec9e6%40sessionmgr4007&hid=4111&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=edsgcl.266868746&db=edsglr

(3) Moyle, B. (2009). The black market in China for tiger products. Global Crime,10(1/2), p.124-143. Doi: 10.1080/17440570902783921

(4)  World Wild Life (2017). https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/what-is-ivory-and-why-does-it-belong-on-elephants.