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The report states that hundreds of animal species are being hunted to extinction.
According to a global assessment of the trapping and hunting of terrestrial wild animals, millions of people in South America, Asia, and Africa are being threatened by excessive hunting practices. The same report states that hundreds of animal species are being hunted to extinction, a new, stricter legislation being needed.
Illegal or unregulated hunting is the primary reason for the dwindling numbers of several bat and primate species, reports the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The paper details that there are 301 species on the brink of extinction. The animals range from large species like Bactrian camels, the gray ox, warty and bearded pigs to small species like the black-bearded flying fox, the golden-capped fruit bat, and Bulmer’s fruit bat.
Moreover, the ICU listed over 120 primate species that are being hunted to extinction. Among the most affected, the authors list the chimpanzee, the lowland gorilla, numerous lemur species, the bonobo, and various monkey species.
Other animals whose numbers are rapidly declining are black and Javan rhinoceroses, deer, tapirs, armadillos, tree kangaroos, and pangolins.
The main reasons for the extinction threat listed by the authors are illegal trafficking and poaching. While some animals are hunted in the name of survival, most are sought out for body parts, delicacy meals, alternative medicine, trophies, and to be used as live exotic pets.
In some places of the word, people rely heavily on wild meat, the disappearance of some species meaning that a significant part of the population could end up suffering from diseases and malnutrition, while others will feel compelled to migrate to other regions of the country.
However, there are solutions for the humans affected by this trend. IUCN researchers suggested that the meat of wild animals could be replaced with food alternatives like protein-rich plants and sustainable species.
Other measures that could help prevent the extinction of such a large number of animals are stricter regulations, more controls on the market, the illegalization of food products originating from wild animals, and harsher punishments for those who break the law.
Currently, our planet is going through a mass extinction phase, the second one that can be tied to the presence and activity of humans.
Do you think that stricter regulations must be applied in these cases?
Image source: Wikipedia
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