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Brian Davies

by Alyssa from Fort Wayne

I love animals. That’s why I chose to do my project on marine wildlife protection. If your home was being destroyed wouldn’t you be upset? That is what is happening to many sea creatures due to overfishing, oil spills and other pollutants.

Oil spills are a catastrophe to animals residing in the surrounding seas. Often times, fish mistake the oil as food and swim right through it, birds fly through the oil to reach fish below the water's surface and marine mammals such as a walrus or a seal may swim right through the oil on the surface of the water. You ask, “Why is that such a bad thing”, well I’ll tell you why. Oil sticks to the fur and feathers of the birds and marine mammals. This then results in hypothermia which causes the animals to go into shock. If the animals digest the oil it is even worse, it can cause organ failure. We have all seen the dawn soap commercials of them cleaning off the oil soaked ducks. The before pictures are definitely not a pretty picture. Keep that image in your head and multiply it by hundreds, that’s the aftermath of an oil spill.

Overfishing hurts a lot more than the small fishes being caught. It reduces the population of larger fish, marine mammals, and birds. All these animals rely on these smaller fish as a food supply. When these animals don’t get their food they start to die off, the population lessens and extinction becomes a possible factor. The Bluefin tuna population is currently feeling the heat of this process. Fish farms are a major factor in why our oceans are being overfished in the first place.

My hero is Brian Davies; He is the founder of the IFAW or the International Fund for Animal Welfare. The International Fund for Animal Welfare tries to save marine animals and other animals alike. If there is an oil spill, their emergency relief team is there taking care of the animals affected by the oil spill. They are the people cleaning the oil off of the animals’ fur, feathers or shell. The IFAW fights to stop commercial whaling. They try to keep endangered species of whale safe and living. They also have a campaign to save the lives of the seals that get clubbed in Canada. The seals are only babies and are clubbed for their skin. This group is trying to stop this cruel treatment. The IFAW was created simply to help the animals; Brian Davies had a good idea in creating it.

I myself can help to save these animals by getting the word out. If the word gets out political leaders, even more can be done to prevent oil spills and over fishing. If more people know what is going on, more animals can be saved. I can also make sure not to pollute our oceans with chemicals and trash. Since I can’t do this all myself I could donate to organizations such as the IFAW. That way I am supporting something I believe in. Animals cannot protect themselves from irresponsible human behavior, so we must do our part for them.

Page created on 3/26/2010 2:32:05 PM

Last edited 8/21/2018 4:53:12 PM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

Related Links

International Fund of Animal Welfare - founded by Brian Davies