Over the years, I have seen numerous news stories go viral about endangered animals being killed by poachers in all parts of the world. Every story I see, my heart breaks more and more. Those animals have no voice to protect themselves. The time has finally come that someone is speaking up for them.
Cara Delevingne, an extremely down-to-earth supermodel, and actress, is the face of a new anti-poaching campaign. She is reportedly the first celebrity to back the campaign, titled, "I'm Not a Trophy." It is a series of photos of Cara with painted photographs on her body displaying different endangered species. The work is breathtaking, to say the least. With Cara's quirky and infectiously fun personality, she is bound to grab attention from her 5.43 million Twitter followers, in addition to the 30.3 million on Instagram.
The campaign's goal is to grab the attention of the trophy-seeking hunters. Maybe it will make them think twice next time they point the gun at an exquisite, helpless animal. The campaign may also help to make laws stricter and make it even more difficult for this illegal activity to occur.
As time progresses, the populations of endangered species continue to decline. According to National Geographic, over the past century, Africa's lion population has gone from 200,000 to less than 30,000. 80 percent of those 300,000 lions were murdered.
One special lion, Cecil, went viral after his death in early July of 2015. He was shot by hunters who allegedly lured him out of his habitat in Hwange National Park with bait, which is illegal regardless of permits. Cecil was in what was supposed to be a protected habitat. The fact that these hunters lured him out just to kill them for their own benefit is disgusting. That's comparable to tricking someone to come out of their home just to kill them. None of those lions, including Cecil, should be hunted the way they are, just to take home a big "trophy."
It is outrageous that there are people that care more about the material objects they possess, rather than the life of animal whose population is endangered—who will soon cease to exist for the rest of time. But as long as they have their trophies, they will be happy. Selfish. That's all I have to say.
This is my plea to you. Help to create a voice for those beautiful animals that cannot speak up for themselves. Stop the illegal killing of endangered species around the world before they are gone forever.
