Slaughterers or Saviours? | Teen Ink

Slaughterers or Saviours?

April 30, 2019
By Freya_Wilson BRONZE, York, Other
Freya_Wilson BRONZE, York, Other
1 article 0 photos 1 comment

Do you want to kill endangered species or have us save their lives instead?

On my 5th birthday my uncle gave me £50 he said I could spend it however I liked, instead of spending it on myself I asked my parents to take me to the zoo where I knew there were animals to be adopted. When I arrived I went straight to the endangered species section to see whether I could help an animal in need. There were so many different animals that I could help but I thought that I would save my money for an animal that really needed it. I found the snow leopards in a corner of the zoo and immediately fell in love with the animal. I filled out the adoption form in hope that other people would be inspired to do the same. I felt amazing after donating my money to something that we needs our help. About a week later I was given a parcel. It was from the zoo! I was so happy that I ripped open the brown paper and glanced inside. Inside was a toy snow leopard and an information sheet about the snow leopard I had adopted. He was called Flake, when I saw that I had helped a tiny cub it made me feel that I was making a difference in the world.

Many snow leopards are endangered because their bones, skins and organs are very valuable in traditional Asian medicines. Even though tigers are the preferred species for these medicines, snow leopards are a common alternative.

Another reason for them being endangered is because of us. Yes .us.  We are also responsible for the deaths of these amazing creatures. We are farming the grasslands where mountain goats and sheep eat their food. These animals are the main food source of a snow leopard. This means that because we are getting rid of the grassland it is effecting the food chain.

There is another reason why snow leopards are so highly hunted. It is because of their beautiful fur. This fur is not very good at camouflaging in their dry habitats. Their fur is primarily grey with spots of brown or black. This makes them very recognisable and easy to find. They are also sometimes used as rugs for rich people because of the intricate design on their fur coats.

 

Snow leopards are one of the predators with no animals that hunt them except for humans. They feast mainly off the mountain goats and sheep that live around their habitat. When these food sources are running low sometimes the snow leopards will be forced to go into the Asian villages below to get their food from the farms. This can enrage the farmers which will sometimes kill the snow leopards in response to them to all of their animals going missing/getting killed.

There are many ways that you can help, some of these ways are: you can adopt a snow leopard, you could raise money for our local animal company. Or you could find more ways to help by going online. But in the end weather you decide to help or not even just having the awareness that there are animals out there that need your help, so that they won’t go extinct. But it all comes down to on question.

Do you want to be a slaughterer or a saviour?


The author's comments:

This piece is about how snow leopards are endangered in their world.


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