Haley Barr 4/1/14
Core Chemistry E/F Odd Mr. Ippolito
Nuwer, Rachel. "In Vietnam, Rampant Wildlife Smuggling Prompts Little Concern." The New York Times 30 Mar. 2015: n. pag. Print.
The article “In Vietnam, Rampant Wildlife Smuggling Prompts Little Concern,” by Rachel Nuwer, describes the growing animal smuggling and hunting trade in Vietnam, one which is driving many already endangered species closer to extinction. Thousands of illegal hunters are draining one of the most biodiverse countries, Vietnam, of its many rare species of animals. Already, rhinoceroses have gone extinct, and conservation experts estimate that Vietnam’s tiger population has been almost or completely wiped out. Many lesser known, but equally impressive species such as soft- shell turtles, pangolins, and civets (a small, nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa) are slowly becoming extinct due to being hunted for food, trophies, and pets. While all Southeast Asian countries and many others outside of the region are involved in these illegal activities, Vietnam plays a major role because the country is a major meeting place for wildlife goods bound for China, which come from Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Africa. Vietnam is also a major consumer of wildlife, especially animals that yield ingredients for traditional medicines, such as rhino horn, used to treat a wide variety of ailments, from cancer to hangovers. The exotic meats of rare animals are seen as luxuries by the middle class eager to advertise its prosperity. Although “wildlife trade is higher profile now than it’s ever been, very few criminals caught for major violations like tiger or rhino horn possession ever do a day in prison,” says Douglas Hendrie, chief technical adviser for Education for Nature- Vietnam. In Vietnam, the smuggling and hunting trade is rampant, and a lack of law enforcement is allowing many species to go extinct.
The animal smuggling trade has a major impact on the people and wildlife in Southeast Asia and in many other areas in the world. Wildlife is vital to a high proportion of the world’s population, and people depend directly on wildlife for consumption and as a way of earning money. However, this type of irresponsible wildlife hunting is threatening this resource. Many species that are being hunted are highly threatened or are almost extinct. Animal smugglers in Vietnam are not concerned with the living and transport conditions of the animals, and hunters are unconcerned with damaging the environment. Many invasive species have been introduced by animal smugglers, which prey upon or out- compete native species. In the words of Nguyen Van Thain, the founder of Save Vietnam Wildlife, “Vietnamese people need to learn to take seriously what we have now. We need to take care of our own environment and wildlife if we want it to be around in the future.” I know that I would be very sad if we lost some of the amazing species of animals we have in the world, and I bet many others would too.
I really liked how this article was written and I enjoyed reading it very much. I liked how it opened up with a story about a Vietnamese animal hunter and smuggler from Vietnam, Luc Van Ho. It described how he hunts the animals and which ones he hunts. It was interesting to get a glimpse into his life. I also liked how the author provided pictures in the article to see the types of animals that are being smuggled and hunted. To improve the article, I would have liked for the author to include more information on what some of the foreign species of animals are, because I had to look up what civets and pangolins were and what they looked like. I also would have liked is the author included more information about the smuggling of the animals, like the title suggests. She writes more about the actual hunting and trapping of the animals. Otherwise, I found this article very informative and I liked reading it.
Haley's review of "In Vietnam, Rampant Wildlife Smuggling Prompts Little Concern" was overall very strong and thorough. I thought that she explained the pretense of the article very well and made the background pieces clear to the reader. I also think that she explained the reasoning of everything, not just letting the reader try to connect the dots. She gave an effective critique of the author and her work, acknowledging both the good and the bad. Despite all of her successes, I think she could have incorporated more outside opinions to support her (and the author's) claims. I think that would have proved her validity a little more. I also think that she should have cut a little of her background information out. It helped the reader understand, but I think that too much background is not always necessary. Overall, she did a nice job. One thing I learned was that rhinos are completely extinct! I always knew that their population was dwindling, but I thought that there were a scarce number of them still in existence. This article and critique really showed me that there are travesties going on in our world that are devastating the planet we live on, and we need to be mindful.
ReplyDeleteNuwer, Rachel. "In Vietnam, Rampant Wildlife Smuggling Prompts Little Concern." The New York Times 30 Mar. 2015: n. pag. Print.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/31/science/in-vietnam-rampant-wildlife-smuggling-prompts-little-concern.html?ref=science
Haley's review of the article, "In Vietnam, Rampant Wildlife Smuggling Prompts Little Concern,” by Rachel Nuwer, was very well-written and informative. In her first paragraph she gave great details about the problems in Vietnam by using a quote from an expert and explaining why these animals are going extinct in Vietnam. She also did a very good job of choosing her topic and being able to reflect on it in her second paragraph. She wrote that it's important to stop the animal hunting and smuggling in Vietnam because we don't want this problem to spread to other places around the world. It would lead to the loss of our wildlife. In her last paragraph, she did a very god job of giving examples of what she liked and disliked from the article. One of the examples she used was about a real Vietnamese animal hunter, Luc Van Ho. Haley gave a little bit of information on him and said that she liked how the author put his story in the article. This was a good example not only because it gives insight into the article but it also gives the reader a little bit more information on the hunters in Vietnam. A few things that I would suggest to improve upon this response is to cut down a little bit in the first paragraph because in some places the reader is given a lot of information and it might become confusing. I would also suggest that Haley talk more about how the information on this issue shows how the Vietnamese system is corrupt. They are letting guilty people run free. One thing that I found surprising while reading Haley's article was when she said, "Already, rhinoceroses have gone extinct, and conservation experts estimate that Vietnam’s tiger population has been almost or completely wiped out." It has gotten so bad that already two species and maybe even more are already extinct. This needs to be dealt with so it doesn't become a worldwide problem.
Throughout Haley Barr's interpretation of the article, "In Vietnam, Rampant Wildlife Smuggling Prompts Little Concern," Barr does a terrific job incorporating quotations in order to provide valid evidence supporting her claim. For example, when speaking of her own feelings toward the subject, she brings about a few lines from a man with first hand experience of the tragedies that continue to occur in Vietnam. This man, Nguyen Van Thain, states "Vietnamese people need to learn to take seriously what we have now. We need to take care of our own environment and wildlife if we want it to be around in the future.” Barr completely agrees with the man, and believes this sense of disregard for the beauty of all the animals on the verge of extinct is tragically awful and uncalled for. Furthermore, Haley's use of background knowledge on this frightening yet emotional piece shows a clear understanding and interest in the topic. Without bits and pieces referring to the state of the Vietnamese and it's connection to the illegally profitable actions of many citizens, I would have little to no clue of what was being spoken about. Also, Haley does a great job using reasoning in explaining why she loved the article. In the last paragraph, while most just simply state that liked the article in as few words as possible, Haley provides viewers with textual examples such as the story of Luc Van Ho and his illegal hunting and trading, really validating her passion for this topic. Although Haley truly does do a magnificent job, some of the background information on the front end of the review, while intellectual, could have been spread out throughout the palate as it does read a bit confusing at times. Adding on to this, I would have loved to see Haley explain the reasons why the law has not intervened to this day. She does say that this sense of structure has not presented itself, however, she doesn't care to go on and deepen the meaning of this review. While I do mention some of these mishaps, I gladly stand by the fact that these was a well-written paper. When reading, I was very surprised at these recent developments and I could not believe that this is occurring throughout Vietnam. These findings had never come across my research, and now I feel so what urged to read more and hope that these animals will not have to worry about the disregard of the human race.
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