Ways in which we can help the animals in danger

Introduction Ever since people lived on earth, they have used animals and plants to give them everything they need. Animals are killed for meat and skin, trees are cut down for paper, plants uprooted for food, minerals are dug from ground. We know that the supply of animals  and plants is not endless. All around the world there are species of animals that are about to become extinct, disappear for ever. We need to do something  to stop this happening . Here are some arguments which we hope that will convince you to help these species.

The first step towards saving animals is to learn as much as possible about them. If we know where and how they live, and what they need to survive, then it will be easier to help them. It is also a good idea to learn from our mistakes of the past, such as destroying too much rainforest and over-hunting animals. To ensure the survival of the world's animals we must learn how to keep 'sustainable populations' alive . The dodo and all the other which man has made extinct became so because their populations fell below a sustainable level. It is worth keeping in mind that those animals may well become the endangered animals of tomorrow.

Another way to help these animals is by letting people know how bad the situation is and try to encourage people to support various groups trying to help out endangered animals.

We realise that it is important to maintain the planet's biodiversity, that it is the richness (variety) of animal and plant life, its abundance and wild habitats. From a selfish point of view, we humans never know how valuable a species of animal or plant may be for us in the future, perhaps as food, medicines or specific information.

There are conservation organisations which try to make people aware of the problems facing wild animals. Some of the ways in which they are being saved include habitat protection, captive breeding, setting up nature reserves and parks and using alternative products in place of products from rare animals. Governments can help by making international agreements between countries to protects animals (many countries, for example, have agreed to stop hunting the blue whale). Scientists are setting up gene banks in which they keep an animal's genetic material (the 'building blocks' of a living thing) in suspended animation. This technique may make it possible in the future to 'grow' a new animal of the same species.