TOW #4: "At CGI, a Commitment to Stop the Bloody Slaughter of African Elephants" by Bryan Walsh

35,000 African elephants are killed every year, which is around 96 elephants everyday. They are killed for their tusks, which is made of ivory. The tusks make a large profit around $1000 per pound. Wildlife trafficking is illegal, but since the punishment is not as severe as some, it is a popular way for criminals to make easy money. People in Africa have tried to fight against these horrible people, however, the Africans are not as "equipped" as those hunters are. 

Walsh did not see elephants actually being killed. But he did lots of research on this situation. He quotes multiple sources and gives many statistics to support his argument.

Shockingly enough, wildlife trafficking began long before 2013. It goes back as far as the 1980s. He uses the CGI, Clinton Global Initiative, who made a commitment to fight back the hunters. The worst part is, wildlife trafficking is still occurring. People are still struggling to stop it.

Walsh was appalled by the horrendous things he heard about the elephants. How could a human being kill another life without any emotion? He wanted to show that this is unjustified, and not just the killing.  He was frustrated about how long it took for people to start taking it seriously. If nothing is done about this, then thousands of innocent elephants will continue to suffer every year.

Walsh reached out to anybody who bothered to care. He doesn't care about who knows, but he wants someone to do something about this. He is hoping for everyone to come together and fight against those awful hunters. And he did his part; he published an article for the entire world to see, to see how precious wildlife is dying everyday. 

The usage of statistics, facts, and quotes shows that Walsh appeals to logos. He quotes several people like the CEO Peter Segilmann of Conservation International, "'Poaching has become an enormous problem and one of the most profitable criminal activities there is,'". This shows that Walsh is not making anything up. People are aware of the situation and are planning to do something about it. These types of quotes allow readers to find Walsh credible and go, "Wow, this is really serious". 

There is no doubt that Walsh accomplished his purpose. He not only presented his argument effectively, but also used factual information to support his argument. He seemed to use every effective source he could find. From reading this article, any reader would feel sorrowful yet angry at the cause. When will animal cruelty end?

A pile of Elephant tusks. 

Source: Jean Liou

Article- http://science.time.com/2013/09/26/at-cgi-a-commitment-to-stop-the-bloody-slaughter-of-african-elephants/