Fifty years ago, the Endangered Species Act was created to protect imperiled species. The Endangered Species Act ("ESA") prohibits importing, exporting, taking, possessing, selling, and transporting endangered and threatened species (with certain exceptions). ESA also provides for the designation of critical habitat and prohibits the destruction of that habitat.
This Act established the necessary guidelines to provide protections for endangered species in order for them to continue to thrive in the wild in freedom and safety from harm.
As we stand today, according to the research article Defaunation in the Anthropocene, from Dirzo, et al., we are likely losing 11,000-58,000 species annually.
In addition, the article also states;
“From an abundance perspective, vertebrate data indicate a mean decline of 28% in number of individuals across species in the past four decades with populations of many iconic species such as the elephant rapidly declining toward extinction.”
We are in a race to save endangered critical species from extinction but what we do not realize is we are the reason species globally are disappearing. Wildlife are threatened by habitat loss, climate change, poaching, and hunting. Everywhere they turn, they are faced with threats due to our actions.
To help support the Endangered Species Act, we can ban trophy hunting of endangered species with the United States and abroad.
Please sign the petition to the United States government to ban trophy hunting of endangered species;
Photo courtesy of the Center for Biodiversity
