Last week, a man in Ohio who had a private zoo of exotic animals killed himself. But before he committed suicide, he released all of his animals in to the wild. This caused a major problems for the police department because wild animals was running all over the place. The man had tigers, gorillas, cheetahs, monkeys and all other types of exotic animals.
Although it was legal to own these types of animals in Ohio, in other places there are strict laws regarding what type of pets a person can keep. Many people think that it is cool to have a tiger as a pet. But it is not cool. They eat a lot of food and are a danger to people.
Many people purchase tigers and other wildlife animals on the black market. Since it is illegal to own endangered species, people who want these types of animals have to go to covert means to get it. That is what wildlife smuggling is. It is the criminal act of buying and selling animals that are illegal and protected by law.
The types of animals that are smuggled include rhinos, because people want to cut off their horns. The horn of a rhino is very valuable on the black market. Another animal that is trafficked is elephants for their ivory. The tusks are cut off of the animal and made into figures that are sold at a very high price.
It is not just animals on land that face this problem. Many sharks are killed for their fins as well. Shark fin soup is a popular dish in China, so many fisherman simply catch a shark and cut of their fin. Then, the dump the shark back in the water.
It is important that we stop this illegal wildlife trade. It is not a good idea to want to have a tiger as a pet. Leave it in the wild, and if you want to see one, visit your local zoo.