Fur Trade Solution Essay

The business of fur trade and the harsh practices of this business have been global issues for many decades. They have ruthless ways of killing animals like mink, foxes, and especially wild yak. It is estimated that the population of the wild yak in Qinghai, China has dropped from one 1 million to 75,000 in the past decade (Fang 38-39). This problem has been going on for too long and despite the laws and restrictions that most governments have set, still poachers hunt and kill animals illegally. There are many possible solutions to this problem that would help, but the most effective way would be to get donations and funding for non-profit organizations that can help make a difference. Funding organizations like the Friends of Nature and The Wild Yak Brigade is the best solution because the government has already tried to make changes and the laws are not being enforced. Another reason is because the organizations would use the money effectively and there would be no need for a law. The last reason this solution would be better is that these organizations are trying to stop the fur trade by cutting off the demand. Many other countries around the world have the same problem of fur trade. Some of them have passed laws and restrictions to stop this, but they have not been very effective. The Coalition to Abolish Fur Trade is trying to help stop this problem in an effort to hold elections for animal rights, but even that has not had much effect (Stallwood 22-27). In Qinghai, China the population of Wild Yaks is drastically going down and even thought their police for has tried to stop this from happening their efforts still have not made a difference (Fang 38-39). In Tibet, their government launched Operation No. 1 which is a $60,000 campaign for anti poaching. On the highway of the Tibetan capital the government set up a tent and asked if they had any illegal weapons or skins. This campaign had almost no effect on the poaching in Tibet and the poor efforts of the government angered the people of Tibet. â€Å"All they did was set up a tent on the road into the reserve,† said a professor from Provincial University (Fang 38-39). Since 1990 the government of Qinghai has caught only 500 poachers even hough there is about 5-6,000 poachers who hunt all over Qinghai (Jiunnu 9). Even thought the government is making an effort, there is still a lot of illegal poachers that need to be stopped. The government has more money to stop this awful practice but yet nonprofit organizations like the Wild Yak Brigade make more of an effort and a difference. The Wild Yak Brigade is a group of activists who are Tibetan warriors armed with guns and roam an 18,000 square foot radius ready to fend off any poachers who hunt Tibetan antelope (Fang 38-39). They are not funded by the government and they get their money from anyone who will donate to them and use it all on fending off these poachers. They have received two jeeps from a Chinese group called Friends of Nature and $10,000 dollars from the United States (Fang 38-39). The group Friends of Nature’s squad of 17 rangers regularly patrolled Hoh Xil, a nature reserve of more than 100,000 square kilometers in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, home to the antelope. Friends of Nature have also recently launched a campaign to save the Tibetan antelope. Friends of Nature have gained the support of many people including British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He told Friends of Nature that he â€Å"would be contacting British and European Union environmental authorities about the illegal trade, in the hope that it could be ended. † (Jiunnu 9). Their approach is not to chase poachers on the plateau, but to draw international attention to the bloody slaughter of the antelope. These organizations have only money they get from donations, but yet they use every bit of it effectively and help make a difference. These organizations have discovered that even with their efforts and the government’s laws the fur trade will not stop until they try and cut off the demand for this fur. They’ve realized that this is a very profitable industry so no matter how illegal or cruel it is, poachers will still try and make money. Therefore, if there is no demand and if they can make people realize that they do not need fur then the poachers will be forced to stop. The European Union and the United States have banned trade in seal fur products but yet those seals continue on the verge of extinction (â€Å"American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals†). Factory farming has also been banned in Austria, Croatia and the United Kingdom but in Austria there are still very high rates of illegal fur trading (Owen). Friends of Nature and other organizations have realized that these laws do not make a difference, so their efforts have been put towards stopping the demand. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is a very popular group that has gotten celebrities to do a campaign â€Å"I’d rather go naked than wear fur†. This campaign is trying to help tell people they do not need fur and they show how cruel the fur trade farms are. Organizations like these make a huge difference in people’s opinions and their efforts are on the path to stopping the demand for fur. The practices of poaching and fur trade are major issues that need to be stopped immediately. The poor efforts of the governments have not gone unnoticed and organizations like Friends of Nature and CAFT have stepped up to help this problem. Even though they have no direct or constant funding they work with as much money as they can get and put it all into helping this problem be solved. Since the government’s laws are not being enforced, supporting the efforts of these organizations will be more effective. Not only would these organizations use this money effectively but they are approaching the problem in a different way by trying to cut off the demand. These methods and solutions would be the most effective way to stop the awful problem of trading fur.