STOLEN

The Newpaper, Thurs 13th july 2006

Thieves target exotic animals in zoos to supply collectors willing to pay big money for rare species. I am apalled by what some people would do for money, and how selfish the collectors are for paying these people just so that they can add that special animal to their prized collection. Nowdays, the number of species of animals declared endangered is increasing, and the increase in thefts of these endangered animals in zoos is making the situation worst. Personally i fear for the lives of these rare and exotic animals that the thieves target as the more exotic they are the higher the price and the higher the chance it is targeted. These animals are endangered and are o the verge of disappearing from the face of the earth, and the zoos are the place best equipped to handle and care for these animals. By stealing these exotic, endangered animals, it is akin to sealing their fate and killing them as i believe these animals do not adapt well to environment changes. Thus the demand for these animals are putting a pressure on the population of it in the wild, as in the wild the number of the species is insignificant and too small to replace the older generation that die out and hence lead to extinction. I am sad to here that there have already been many cases of theft of these exotic animals in the zoo. I advised the zoos to step up the zoo's security, and also to employ zookeepers that rotate between both night and day shifts so that they can keep watch over the animals around the clock. Also, they should tag the animals with microchips or smal tracking devices that are not easily removed from the body. This way if the animal is stolen, then there will be a much higher chance of finding it and rescuing it back.