March, 2008
Protecting endangered species
Giant pandas are an endangered species, threatened by continued habitat loss and by a very low birthrate.
VADIVU GOVIND is president of ANIMALWATCH, a group that fights for better treatment of animals. Here he explains to What's Up the absolute need for conserving endangered wildlife.
What is a "species"?
A species is one large family of animals which are all like each other. For example, humans are one species, turtles are another and bears are another.
What does it mean when an animal species is “endangered”?
It means that there are fewer and fewer animals in that species left in the world. There is a danger that there may not be any animals left in that species soon. When there are no more animals in a species, it has become extinct. We will never be able to see that animal again!
What are some examples of endangered species?
Tigers, elephants, many kinds of bears, many birds such as palm cockatoos are examples of the animals that are endangered.
Are there endangered species in Singapore?
There are many, and some of them are the Chinese Egret, Straw-headed Bulbul, Common Palm Civet and the Dugong.
To answer this question, we need to understand the web of life. Every animal and every plant depends on other plants and animals to survive. For example, all animals, including humans, need oxygen to live and plants produce this oxygen.
All animals and plants in a sense work together to survive. If one animal or plant dies, many other animals and plants that depend on it may also die. If this happens more and more, one day, humans will have difficulty living as well since we depend on plants and animals to live.
There is also another important reason why we should care about animals going extinct. Most animals are very much like us in that they can feel pain and suffering. They can also feel emotions like joy. Elephants are killed to remove to ivory tusks so people can use them to make things. Did you know that elephants can express sadness when an elephant in their herd dies?
People have seen them pick up the bones of dead elephants and cradle them in their trunks. The activities that cause animals to go extinct can also cause them to be in a lot of pain or be very unhappy. If we have a caring heart, we would care about this.
Humans! We are destroying the forests which are the homes of endangered species, for example. We pollute the habitats of these species till they cannot live there anymore. And we kill or capture these endangered animals.
Let’s look more closely at why we kill or capture these animals. Wildlife may be cruelly killed so that body parts like tiger bones and rhino horns can be used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. People also kill animals to make things like tortoise shell hair clips, reptile skin handbags and ivory chopsticks.
People also capture and keep endangered animals as pets. In Singapore, wild animals cannot be kept as pets but people still do it secretly. Many of these animals were taken away from their habitats. Some would have died during capture or during transport to Singapore.
What’s being done to save them?
There are laws to protect these animals. There is an agreement that over 160 countries have signed called CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Wild Fauna and Flora). CITES controls how much we use endangered animals so that we do not use them till they become extinct.
Singapore has signed this agreement. This means that Singapore must enforce the law to ensure that illegal trade in endangered species does not happen here. If it happens, then the people who break the law will be fined or jailed or both.
There are also many groups of people like AnimalWatch who do research to find out how the animals may be illegally traded, educate people about saving these animals and work with the Government to get better laws and enforcement.
But much more needs to be done. More people, time, money and other kinds of help are needed to save the animals.
If it’s against the law to kill or trade these animals, how come people still do it?
People can make a lot of money from killing or catching these animals. One rhinoceros horn can be worth $100,000. Imagine that!
Singapore is so small and doesn’t have many animals to start with. So does the problem have anything to do with us?
Singapore does have many endangered species to protect and we must protect the few areas left where these species are living. We must remember to leave some of the old forested areas as they are so that these endangered species can live in freedom.
Also, because Singapore has a big port and airport, many endangered species pass through Singapore on their way to other parts of the world. For example, last year, Singapore officials seized many ivory tusks from Africa on its way to Japan at Changi Airport. There were tusks belonging to more than 600 elephants. This means that about 600 elephants had been killed! (The ivory would have been used to make ivory products such as name seals and chopsticks.)
Singaporeans also buy expensive endangered species or products made from them. For example, more and more Singaporeans are keeping endangered animals as pets illegally. Many of these are endangered animals like birds, snakes, lizards, tortoises, gibbons and slow loris.
The other way in which we can affect endangered species is through what we do when we go on a holiday. Newspaper reports have said that Singaporeans go to Malaysia and eat endangered species products like bear paws. If you look at brochures from travel agencies in Singapore, you will also find that in trips to countries like Thailand, China and Malaysia, you may find many visits to wildlife shows. When we watch these shows, we are supporting these wildlife often being taken from their homes and made to perform tricks for us. When we travel, we also buy souvenirs made from endangered species.
Can my family and I actually make a difference?
Yes! If you are ready to look after a pet for the rest of its life, adopt one from SPCA. Don’t buy wild animals such as snakes, lizards and monkeys as pets. They need to live in the wild.
Buy things made from artificial materials or non-endangered plants. Never use products made from endangered species.
Enjoy watching endangered species in their habitats such as Pulau Ubin, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve or Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve. Or watch the wonderful wildlife TV shows. But don’t watch shows where wildlife is used to perform tricks for you.
Speak to your family and friends about what you have read in this article. The more people know about this, the more they can save the animals.
This article first appeared in the October 2003 issue of What's Up.
Re-published here in March, 2008
What is a "species"?
A species is one large family of animals which are all like each other. For example, humans are one species, turtles are another and bears are another.
What does it mean when an animal species is “endangered”?
It means that there are fewer and fewer animals in that species left in the world. There is a danger that there may not be any animals left in that species soon. When there are no more animals in a species, it has become extinct. We will never be able to see that animal again!
What are some examples of endangered species?
Tigers, elephants, many kinds of bears, many birds such as palm cockatoos are examples of the animals that are endangered.
Are there endangered species in Singapore?
There are many, and some of them are the Chinese Egret, Straw-headed Bulbul, Common Palm Civet and the Dugong.
Dugongs were once found all over over the South Pacific and Indian Oceans, but now their numbers have greatly reduced.
Does it really matter if some animals become extinct?To answer this question, we need to understand the web of life. Every animal and every plant depends on other plants and animals to survive. For example, all animals, including humans, need oxygen to live and plants produce this oxygen.
All animals and plants in a sense work together to survive. If one animal or plant dies, many other animals and plants that depend on it may also die. If this happens more and more, one day, humans will have difficulty living as well since we depend on plants and animals to live.
There is also another important reason why we should care about animals going extinct. Most animals are very much like us in that they can feel pain and suffering. They can also feel emotions like joy. Elephants are killed to remove to ivory tusks so people can use them to make things. Did you know that elephants can express sadness when an elephant in their herd dies?
People have seen them pick up the bones of dead elephants and cradle them in their trunks. The activities that cause animals to go extinct can also cause them to be in a lot of pain or be very unhappy. If we have a caring heart, we would care about this.
The Balinese Tiger was hunted to extinction - the last one was killed in September, 1937.
What's making these animals disappear?Humans! We are destroying the forests which are the homes of endangered species, for example. We pollute the habitats of these species till they cannot live there anymore. And we kill or capture these endangered animals.
Let’s look more closely at why we kill or capture these animals. Wildlife may be cruelly killed so that body parts like tiger bones and rhino horns can be used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. People also kill animals to make things like tortoise shell hair clips, reptile skin handbags and ivory chopsticks.
People also capture and keep endangered animals as pets. In Singapore, wild animals cannot be kept as pets but people still do it secretly. Many of these animals were taken away from their habitats. Some would have died during capture or during transport to Singapore.
What’s being done to save them?
There are laws to protect these animals. There is an agreement that over 160 countries have signed called CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Wild Fauna and Flora). CITES controls how much we use endangered animals so that we do not use them till they become extinct.
Singapore has signed this agreement. This means that Singapore must enforce the law to ensure that illegal trade in endangered species does not happen here. If it happens, then the people who break the law will be fined or jailed or both.
There are also many groups of people like AnimalWatch who do research to find out how the animals may be illegally traded, educate people about saving these animals and work with the Government to get better laws and enforcement.
But much more needs to be done. More people, time, money and other kinds of help are needed to save the animals.
If it’s against the law to kill or trade these animals, how come people still do it?
People can make a lot of money from killing or catching these animals. One rhinoceros horn can be worth $100,000. Imagine that!
Singapore is so small and doesn’t have many animals to start with. So does the problem have anything to do with us?
Singapore does have many endangered species to protect and we must protect the few areas left where these species are living. We must remember to leave some of the old forested areas as they are so that these endangered species can live in freedom.
Also, because Singapore has a big port and airport, many endangered species pass through Singapore on their way to other parts of the world. For example, last year, Singapore officials seized many ivory tusks from Africa on its way to Japan at Changi Airport. There were tusks belonging to more than 600 elephants. This means that about 600 elephants had been killed! (The ivory would have been used to make ivory products such as name seals and chopsticks.)
Singaporeans also buy expensive endangered species or products made from them. For example, more and more Singaporeans are keeping endangered animals as pets illegally. Many of these are endangered animals like birds, snakes, lizards, tortoises, gibbons and slow loris.
Even though doctors now say that the bear bile used in traditional medicine can be replaced by herbs, the cruel practice of extracting bile from live bears still continues.
In 2001, it was found that over 70 percent of Traditional Chinese Medicine shops surveyed in Singapore may have been selling bear bile illegally. Bile helps the bear digests its food. There are two ways of removing bile from bears. One is to kill bears in the wild. Another is to keep the bears in tiny cages for many years and remove the bile through a hole in their abdomen. Both are cruel and lead to bears becoming more and more endangered.
The other way in which we can affect endangered species is through what we do when we go on a holiday. Newspaper reports have said that Singaporeans go to Malaysia and eat endangered species products like bear paws. If you look at brochures from travel agencies in Singapore, you will also find that in trips to countries like Thailand, China and Malaysia, you may find many visits to wildlife shows. When we watch these shows, we are supporting these wildlife often being taken from their homes and made to perform tricks for us. When we travel, we also buy souvenirs made from endangered species.
Can my family and I actually make a difference?
Yes! If you are ready to look after a pet for the rest of its life, adopt one from SPCA. Don’t buy wild animals such as snakes, lizards and monkeys as pets. They need to live in the wild.
Buy things made from artificial materials or non-endangered plants. Never use products made from endangered species.
Enjoy watching endangered species in their habitats such as Pulau Ubin, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve or Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve. Or watch the wonderful wildlife TV shows. But don’t watch shows where wildlife is used to perform tricks for you.
Speak to your family and friends about what you have read in this article. The more people know about this, the more they can save the animals.
This article first appeared in the October 2003 issue of What's Up.
Re-published here in March, 2008