Free Post: Wildlife Trade

     The Huffington Post recently posted an article that explains what really happens during wildlife trade. Wildlife trade is what happens when a wild animal is removed because they are either a danger to the area they are in or they are transported for human demand, such as medicine, pets, entertainment etc. These animals often suffer from “broken bones, crushed internal organs, limb loss, suffocation, dehydration, starvation, malnutrition, disease, chronic stress and fear.” This article was written not necessarily to give information about these animals, but more to identify the fact that animal welfare is rarely ever mentioned. In fact, between 2006 and 2011 animal welfare was almost never mentioned at all. Wildlife trade is a very big business now-a-days, despite the many different opinions concerning it, and with this business growing as quickly as it is, more animals are being put in danger and are suffering every day. 

     Although, this post may sound preachy, but this article created many strong opinions of mine to shine through. Personally I feel that wildlife trade is wrong in many ways, I think that in-order to transport any type of animal anywhere, there should be some sort of law saying that a wildlife veterinarian should be present. These animals suffer through a lot of pain and some even end up dying because they are not treated humanely. While animal welfare groups are recently trying to make a difference and give more attention toward what is happening regarding wildlife, I think one thing they should be pushing as well is involving veterinarians. In fact, if you think about it, a hospital would never transport a patient to another place without a doctor to make sure they arrived safely; why should animals be treated any less humanly, especially since they’re the ones being taken without any consent. 

References

D'Cruze, Neil. "Wildlife Trade - Why Is No-one Shouting About Animal Welfare?" The Huffington Post UK. HPMG News, 6 Jan. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.