By Muyid Deen Suleman
Kumasi Dec. 06, GNA – Wildlife crimes are detrimental to the ecosystem and dangerous to environmental sustainability, Dr Meryir Ziekah, the Manager and Resident Veterinary Officer, Kumasi Zoological Gardens, has said.
It was important that all key stakeholders created the needed awareness on the need to preserve and protect the natural habitats to prevent wild animals from becoming endangered or extinct.
Speaking at a durbar to mark this year’s World Wildlife Conservation Day at the Kumasi Zoo, Dr Ziekah expressed worry over the continuous perpetration of criminal activities against animals in the wild.
These include illegal poaching, smuggling and transportation of specific animal products such as rhino horns and elephant tusks by criminal groups to make profits, destruction of the habitats of wildlife through illegal mining and forest degradation, as well as setting of wildfires in forest reserves and other ecological zones.
World Wildlife Conservation Day is observed on December 4, every year, to create awareness of the need for humans to preserve and protect wildlife as part of the natural ecosystem.
This year’s celebration, which was organised with support from the West Africa Primate Conservation Action (WAPCA), attracted school children and parents among other members of the public.
It was on the theme: “Be our Voice, Protect Us.”
Dr Zeikah stressed that people should take time to research and study carefully animals they admired to learn about their lifestyles and behaviour.
He appealed to the public to appreciate the eco-diversity and allow wild animals to live and play their roles in the natural ecosystem.
“Wildlife cannot be manufactured and once it’s gone, it cannot get replenished.”
“Those who profit from it illegally are not just undermining our borders and our economies; they are truly stealing from the next generation,” Dr Zeikah quoted Mrs Hillary Clinton, former US Secretary of State, who proposed the World Wildlife Conservation Day celebration in 2012.
He said endangered animal and tree species such as birds, insects, fish, reptiles, mammals, crustaceans, flowers, and grasses, needed to be protected to promote and enhance environmental conservation and sustainability.
Ms Nuria Badiella, the Research Officer and Education Coordinator of WAPCA, urged the public to report any suspected endangered animal in their communities to the authorities at the Zoo for rescue and rehabilitation.
GNA