My last post related to poaching, which seems like forever ago, I talked about poaching in Africa. While Africa is most often known as the poaching capital of the world, that doesn’t mean that this horrific act does not occur in other places, specifically here in America. In my first post, I spoke briefly about the different animals that are poached in America and why it is considered poaching if hunting is legal in America. Well there is a huge difference between hunting and poaching.
Even if you don’t hunt and don’t know much about it (like me), most people, especially here in Pennsylvania, know that there is a certain time and place to hunt specific animals. I will always know that the first day of deer season is the Monday after Thanksgiving because my school district in northeastern Pennsylvania gave us that day off so people in my high school can go out and hunt. The problem with poaching arises from individuals that hunt animals that are out of season and, by doing so, put the animals at risk of extinction or the poachers trade the animal’s parts for money.
While you would think America would be ahead of underdeveloped countries in Africa with our poaching laws, we are not too much better. The American Black Bear is one of the top ten most endangered species in the world and yet the poaching of them is only illegal in 34 states in the union leaving them fair game in 16 states.
The American Black Bear
Black bears are poached for their bile and gallbladders which are often traded to Eastern countries that believe that those items can treat liver and heart problems as well as diabetes. This may seem insane to us, but bear parts are growing in popularity on the black market. Minnesota, which is one of the 16 states that have not outlawed the trade of black bear parts, is estimated to be responsible for about 50,000 dead black bears in a year.
Another animal in the United States that is on the endangered species list is the Bighorn Sheep. Since 1998, this species has been a fixture of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Endangered list. While human destruction of Bighorn Sheep habitats is a contributor to their dwindling population, so is poaching. These sheep, specifically males, are targets for poachers because of their antlers. Just like the
Bighorn Sheep
American Black Bear, their parts are sold on the black market for upwards of $20,000. Many do not just hunt this endangered species for profit, however many Americans, specifically in rural western areas of America where hunting laws are extremely loose, just hunt them for sport. Since animals like deer are in danger of overpopulation, it is perfectly fine for people to hunt them for sport; however when a species has been on the verge of extinction for 28 years, this hunt isn’t helping their situation.
Moving to the ocean, poaching in America also occurs in the Pacific ocean off of the coast of California. Sharks fall victim to vicious poaching off of the coast because of the Chinese delicacy of shark fin soup. Shark fins pop up on the black market for approximately $500 per fin. Sharks that fall victim to the poachers in the California waters 
meet a very brutal death. Sharks are captured by the “fishermen” and their fins are sliced completely off while the shark is still alive. Once the poachers get what they want, the living shark is released back into the water to die. While the sale and distribution of shark fins is illegal under California law, this vicious act still occurs and is responsible for about 100 million shark deaths every year. No matter how terrified you are of sharks, I think we can all agree that no animal deserves to die so brutally.
The final incidents of poaching in the United States that I will cover is that of deer. Like I mentioned earlier, hunting deer in the United States is perfectly legal and, in a way, is even beneficial for the deer population so they do not over populate and die of a 
lack of resources. However, there are constant occurrences of individual hunting trophy-sized bucks out of season and in illegal areas. This is undeniably against the law. In America there is a time, place, and species to hunt so individuals should respect these laws. They are there for a reason!
Source:
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/5-types-of-poaching-happening-right-here-in-the-u-s/
Photo Sources:
https://www.findfarmcredit.com/assets/articles/WL11_12_cover-buck.jpg
http://www.coralworld.co.il/SiteContent/Files/tiger-shark-picture-swimming-pictures_261284.jpg
http://beartrust-dev1.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/black-bear-cub.jpg
http://naturemappingfoundation.org/natmap/photos/mammals/bighorn_sheep_5840np.jpg
I didn’t know that poaching was such a big problem in the United States and especially with black bears. I can’t believe that not every state protects black bears. I hope that more people are learn about poaching in the U.S. so that we can end poaching here and around the world.
Being from California I knew a little bit about the sharks and how they are poached. However, I had no idea about the black bears. And I find it interesting that they are only protected in 34 states and not all of them.
I did not know black bears are endangered…maybe in certain areas, though they are of least concern according to Wikipedia.
I had no idea that so much poaching took place in the United States, especially with black bears. Maybe for another post, you should consider what the government can actually do to stop this poaching. I think we can agree that simply implementing laws forbidding poaching is not enough; those who really want to profit from this activity will still do it. What other ways could our country stop this crime?
I actually had no idea that black bears weren’t protected in any state at all, let alone 16! I feel like this is something that everyone could agree upon and that could be acted on in a fairly short amount of time, but the fact that this isn’t the case still must prove I’m wrong.