Rhino Poaching: Pursuasive Essay

KIRA HAMMOND – ENGLISH DRAFT – PURSUASIVE ESSAY

Millions of rhinos used to roam throughout southern Asia (mostly in the Indian Subcontinent, comprising of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka) and parts of Southern and Eastern Africa. In the mid to late 20th Century, rhino numbers began to decline dramatically due to excessive hunting for sport and poaching. The Indian Rhino, also known as the Greater One-Horned Rhino, was also hunted because it was seen as an agricultural pest. Due to overwhelming effort from conservationists, there has been a significant rise in the numbers of Black, Northern White, and Indian rhinos. Threats to rhinos include habitat loss and lack of support from governments, but the main threat is poaching. Hundreds of rhinos are poached every year for their horn and then taken to countries such as China and Vietnam to be sold on the black market and used as a traditional Chinese medicine. Due to the great demand for rhino horn, it is a favourite among poachers and can sell for up to $60,000 per kilogram. The extinction of rhinos would have a major effect on the countries that these rhinos call home. The tourism industry, especially in South Africa, would suffer greatly and other species of animals and plants may even become extinct along with the rhino. If more effort isn't put in by the governments of the countries involved in the illegal trade of their horn, all rhinos are expected to become extinct within 30-40 years.  

There is believed to be approximately five different species of rhino with a combined population of approximately 28,000. These five species are the Black Rhino with a population of almost 5,000, Northern White Rhino with a population of 20,000 and Southern White Rhino with a population of almost 200 (both subspecies of the White Rhino), Indian Rhino with a population of 3,000, Javanese Rhino with a population of 35 or even less, and Eastern Sumatran Rhino and Western Sumatran Rhino with a combined population of less than 300 (both subspecies of the Sumatran Rhino with the third subspecies believed to be extinct). Rhinos have been around for approximately 40,000,000 years and once had populations of around 1,000,000. Unfortunately, in 1970 their numbers dropped to 70,000 due to excessive habitat loss, poaching, and hunting. Rhinos are an extremely important asset to South Africa's tourism industry due to the large sums of money they help bring in each year; this amount is estimated to be almost $103,000,000 every year. Conservation efforts also don't just protect the rhinos, but they also help protect other animals and plants in the surrounding areas and result in thousands of jobs for locals every year. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a leading team of conservationists who, with the help of the world's largest wildlife trade monitoring network, TRAFFIC, fund efforts to monitor and protect rhinos with funding for anti-poaching equipment and operations, higher security fences and technology, helping restore habitats, and supporting local projects and communities. If these remaining 28,000 rhinos were to go extinct, thousands of people would lose their jobs, millions of dollars would be lost from the tourism industry, and hundreds of other animal and plant species may become endangered or even extinct.