Dear Next President:

The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but rather, "Can they suffer?" ~Jeremy Bentham. This quote is about animal rights, and it says something because poaching is a deadly crime and it's not only happening here, it's happening everywhere. There are nineteen animals in the U.S.A that are endangered, most of these animals are still hunted for fur, bones, meat, ect. Wildfire officials say that tens of millions are killed legally each year. For each animal killed legally, another is killed illegally. Few of the poachers are punished. But, the poaching in the United States is not nearly as bad as it is in other countries.

Black bear’s are getting killed for their fur, claws, and gallbladders. The fur used for coats, claws for necklaces, and gallbladder for treatments and medicine. The other body parts are sold separately. Only certain countries salvage these parts such as Idaho, Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Connecticut, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Rhode Island allow the sale of gallbladders taken legally out of state. The black market has become popular for trade of these items. Thirty four countries have banned trade of these items and Minnesota has banned hunting of these animals were Fifty thousand bears are killed each year.

Big horned sheep are also getting killed for theirs horns and fur, mainly horns. The reason why is because of how much it’s worth. In the black market, the horns from the big horned sheep goes over twenty thousand dollars. The Big horned sheep has been on the endangered animal list since nineteen ninety eight. Poaching poses a serious role in decreasing the population of Big horned sheep, as well as land development, destruction of their habitats, and human interference.

Even though there's a mass population of deer, illegally killing these animals should still be stopped. Even though deer hunting is common but hunting when the season is over is considered poaching. This is not the biggest problem with poaching but still should be stopped.

The sad thing is there's no foolproof way to stop poachers from hunting illegally, but we can protect the animals and raise money to protect them. It’s not a foolproof plan but it will help the animals. There are various websites that you can donate money too. I know it's not the most important issue right now but it’s still important nonetheless.

Sincerely,

Afton