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.                            

The Life of a Breaker Boy

Figure 1 James the Breaker Boy.

Hello! My name is James and I'm 8 years old.  That is me in Figure 1!  I'm a Breaker Boy.  Many of you might not know what a Breaker Boy is.  A BREAKER BOY is a boy who picks small pieces of coal out of piles of rock.  You are probably wondering where I am and why I look so dirty.  I'm forced to break small pieces of coal in a thing called a breaker.  A BREAKER is a little room where coal is put into (1).  Every time coal is put into the breaker, BIG dust clouds fill the room.  That's why I look so dirty!

Figure 2 James and his friends in the breaker.

Look at me and my friends in Figure 2! We are working in the breaker.  My friends are different just like me! Because I'm a Breaker Boy, my day is different than yours, I learn a different way than you, and even the games I play are different than yours!

My day begins when my mama wakes me up for work.  I always wake up before the sun rise.  Sometimes I want to go back to sleep but Mama doesn't let me.  I always forget that I'm forced to go to work because I need to support my family (1). I always hear Mama and Papa talk about not having enough food to feed me and my 3 brothers and sisters and not having enough money to buy coal to heat our house.  

Figure 3 A coal patch town.

Once I am ready for work, I wait for my friends to meet me outside on the road (Figure 3).  My friends and I live next door to each other.  We all live in a patch town.  A PATCH TOWN is a big group of houses where my friends' families and my family are forced to live in (2).  The owner of the coal company doesn't want its workers to live anywhere else.  I heard Mama saying yesterday that more houses are being built because the town is starting to get very crowded.  

When all of my friends are ready, we begin our walk to work.  The sun still hasn't risen yet so our path to work is very dark.  Once my friends and I get to work, we sit down in the breaker and start breaking the coal.  My arms still hurt from yesterday so I'm not as fast as the others.  Mama always tells me I'm going to grow BIG muscles because I break coal for 15 hours everyday (5).  I continue to work until the big men tell me and friends that we're able to go home.  When we get out of the breaker I see that it's already night time. On our dark walk home I can barely walk!  My body hurts so much that my friends have to help me get the rest of the way home.  When I get home, my mama tells me it's time for dinner and then learning. 

You're probably wondering why I don't go to school like you!  I'm not able to go to school because I work a long time.  Some of my friends tried to go to school.  They had to leave because they didn't know how to read or write.  They weren't able to practice their reading and writing because they were too tired after work.  Unlike my friends, I'm able to read, write, AND do math!  Every night after dinner my mama sits down at the kitchen table and teaches me.  I really try to pay attention but I'm just so tired that I fall asleep after my long day.  Mama eventually wakes me and I walk up to bed.

Figure 4 Old church in the coal patch town.

THE NEXT DAY...

I woke up happy today because I don't have to go to work!  Me and my friends don't have to work today because it's a Sunday.  On Sundays, everyone from the patch town goes to church. After a short walk, everyone makes it to the church (Figure 4).  I think the church is SO big! My papa told me that him and a few other coal miners built it to make the patch town look nicer.

Figure 5 James and his best friends.

Once church is over, my 4 best friends and I decide to play some games together.  That's me and my best friends in Figure 5!  Their names are Joseph, Charles, Jack, and Ronald.  We're still wearing our handmade church clothes that our mamas made for us.  Charles tells us that he wants to play kick the can.  KICK THE CAN is a game where you have to kick a can before you are called on.  Once you're called on, you become the leader of the can.  I love playing kick the can (3).  It's my favorite game!

As I'm just about to kick the can my mama yells out to me.  I'm scared I'm going to get in trouble because I'm playing a game while I'm still in my church clothes. I quickly run to my house.  When I walk inside I see that Mama is crying.  Papa is sitting beside her and crying as well.  I ask them both why they are crying.  My mama says,

"James, I heard from a few friends that men in nice suits were at the coal company today.  My friends told me that they are changing the rules in the breakers."

I'm not sure what she means.  I'm not sure why she's crying.  My papa can tell I don't know what Mama means and he says,

"Son, this means that Breaker Boys don't have to work anymore.  The men in suits believed that you and your friends are too young to work in the breaker. It's too dangerous. The age to work was changed to 14 years old (4).  You and your friends can go to school now!"

I'm so happy and excited from the news that I quickly run outside to tell my friends.  I tell my friends that we're able to go to school so we can learn.  My friends are just as excited as me!  Joseph tells us that he's so excited to learn how to do math.  I want to know who the men in suits were so I can thank them for letting me and my friends be able to go to school and play games LIKE YOU!

For more information on the rule that changed the Breaker Boys age, click the link here: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/employment-law/pages/fairlaborstandardsactof1938.aspx


References

(1) Breaker Boys.  (2014).  The work of a breaker boy.  Retrieved from                         http://thebreakerboysbrianeicher.weebly.com/the-work-of-a-breaker-boy.html  

(2) ExplorePAhistory.  (2011).  Life in the coal patches.  Retrieved from                          http://explorepahistory.com/story.php?storyId=1-9-18&chapter=3

(3) Project Play.  (2017).  The rules of kick the can.  Retrieved from http://w                   ww.projectplaybooks.com/the-rules-of-kick-the-can

(4) Society for Human Resource Management.  (2017).  Fair Labor Standards            Act(FLSA) of 1938.  Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/rsourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/employment-law/pages/fairlaborstandardsactof1938.aspx

(5) Talking Points Memo.  (2017).  Breaker boys.  Retrieved from http://talkingp           ointsmemo.com/gallery/breaker-boys

How Bunnies Help Science

Animals in Science Experiments

Figure 1: Rabbit in wild

What are some small animals you can think of? Maybe you thought of bunnies, rats, cats, dogs, fish, frogs or even monkeys? Well, all of those animals can be used in science for experiments or tests. This is called ANIMAL TESTING. Animal testing has been around for hundreds of years and has helped scientists create new medicines and makeups. During animal testing, animals are kept in cages inside laboratories where they are watched and studied. The tests that scientists do on the animals are all trying to test whether the product or medicine is safe so that humans can take it and use it. Some examples of the tests are purposefully getting the animals 

Figure 2: Rat in wild 

sick to watch what happens, not feeding the animals, doing mini surgeries on them or even shock treatments. Some of the experiments may hurt the animals but some don't affect them at all. This seems cruel and unfair to the animals but in the past, animal testing has helped create some very useful medicines for humans and helped to make sure that household cleaning supplies like Windex, is safe to use.

Figure 3: Brands that test on animals

Some popular products that use animal testing are Post-Its, Vaseline, Windex, Band-aids and even Kleenex. Figure 3 shows a larger list of brands that you probably use all the time that test on animals. 

ANIMAL TESTING gained a lot of bad attention and has many different groups of people fighting against it and working to make it illegal. On the other hand, there are many groups of people fighting for it to stay legal. They're argument is that there have been a lot of important things that have come from animal testing in the past that have helped humans. Penicillin, asthma treatments and insulin are all originally from ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION and have helped millions of people since then. Another "pro" to animal testing is that there are not many options of other ways to do these kinds of experiments. Without using animals, humans would need to be used instead. Some cons of animal testing are that it is very expensive to house the animals and feed them everyday. Also, some of the experiments do not end up giving good results or just don't work, so the animal was experimented on for no reason. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to animal testing but it is important to know where you stand and what you believe is right. So, what do you think?

For more information on the pros and cons visit: http://animal-testing.procon.org/

For more information on groups against animal testing visit: http://www.petakids.com/animal-facts/animals-used-experiments/

References:

1. 

About animal testing. (2017). Retrieved April 14, 2017, from http://www.hsi.org/
campaigns/end_animal_testing/qa/about.htmlBBC - Ethics - Animal ethics: Experimenting on animals. (2009).
Retrieved April 14, 2017, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/animals/using/experiments_1.shtml

Animal Testing [Photograph]. (2017). Retrieved April 27, 2017, from http://www.allaboutanimals.org.uk/PK-Testing.asp

Animal testing [Photograph]. (2014, December). Retrieved April 27, 2017, from http://wiki.kidzsearch.com/wiki/Animal_testing 

2. 
8 Products You Own That Are Tested on Animals. (2014). Retrieved April 21, 2017, from http://www.businessinsurance.org/8-products-you-own-that-are-tested-on-animals/

3 Ways to Buy Cruelty-Free Home, Health and Beauty Products on a Budget [Photograph]. (2016, July 31). Retrieved April 27, 2017, from https://thelifelongvegetarian.wordpress.com/2016/08/01/3-ways-to-buy-cruelty-free-home-health-and-beauty-products-on-a-budget/ 

3.

Murnaghan, I. (2017, April 12). Using Animals for Testing: Pros Versus Cons. Retrieved April 14, 2017, from http://www.aboutanimaltesting.co.uk/using-animals-testing-pros-versus-cons.html

                                                    How the government is protecting you

Image 1 (Tony the Cellphone)

Hey kids !! My name is Tony (Image 1) the cellphone. I come in all shapes and sizes. I'm here to tell you how I function because I wasn't born with the same parts as you have, but we aren't that different because I have a unique form of a brain! I'm here to tell you of all the fun and cool activities that I'm able to provide for you. I will also be telling you on how the United States of America government is watching me so it can protect you from potential dangers!

               You and I are alike!

Image 3(human brain)

                                             You and I have many similarities on how we work. You have a brain (Figure 2) that processes information and your movement. I have a thing called a circuit board (Figure1). The circuit board holds microchips and processors inside a cell phone which serves as the brains of the outfit. This means that every action and button you press on me, in seconds it processes that information and translates it to the action you desire.

Image 2(Cellphone body)

The Cool Features I can provide for you

Knowing how I work you should know some of the things that I am capable of. My main purpose is that I am a form of communication. I able to give you access to talk to your parents, your friends, and even anybody around the wolrd! I can also have access to the internet, so if you ever have a question, I will find it in a heartbeat. You can also take pictures, listen to music and even play games. Everybody loves playing games such as doodle jump and angry birds. (Figure 4) on me !They are interactive games which i can perform because i'm so advanced in technology I can do these great features that other devices can't provide.

 

 (Figure 4)

How the government watches me so they can protect you

Since I was invented with great power I have the ability to do great things and I also have the ability to do dangerous things. We all know that there are some very bad people out there that are breaking the rules. Its up to the government to protect us from these people so they wont abuse me or hurt innocent people such as yourself. The number one way people abuse me is that they can hack into somebody's computer and steal their personal information. Hacking is when somebody steals information or property of someone without permission. Making it difficult to recover important information such as credit card information. It's up to the men and women in blue, who are our law enforcement agents to use tactics such as surveillance. Surveillance is an observation or monitoring of a person or group. Examples of surveillance include surveillance cameras, wiretaps, GPS tracking, and internet surveillance. If the law thinks that there is illegal internet usage going on, that person is immediately flagged and they are under investigation for awhile to see if they are innocent or guilty. I hope Tony helped you understand how the cell phone can protect you, but also how you should use it responsible. The government tracks our phone records to help us, not to hurt us and if you didn't do anything wrong you shouldn't be afraid at all!

https://www.cia.gov/kids-page

References

1) (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2017, from http://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs181/projects/ethics-of-surveillance/ethics.html

2) (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2017, from http://www.crossdomainsolutions.com/cyber-crime/