Ryan Tate

Ryan Tateworldanimalnews.comRyan Tate has risked his life many times and yet he is still with us today. He has served for his country and animals. Serving in the military from the young age of 17 and getting deployed to Iran, these skills help him do what makes him so special today. After being released from the Marine Corps he joined the State Department. He then went on to found his own non-profit organization called VETPAW which stands for Veterans Empowered To Protect African Wildlife. This organization hires American military veterans to aid in training rangers in Africa to help prevent poaching. They also help prevent poachers themselves and also care for the animals. A person that cares this much about animals and is selfless enough to put their country before themselves is worthy of being called a hero. This is why Ryan Tate deserves to be a hero because of his selfless and caring characteristics.

Ryan Tate training African park rangersrealclearlife.comOne attribute that makes Ryan Tate so special is his selflessness. Even as a young adult he would put others such as his country and animals before himself. In an article about Tate, the author wrote, “Tate was in Ramadi, Iraq, during the bloody 2007 surge of troops. A year later, he left the Marines and began working for the State Department in diplomatic security posts in Washington, D.C., and New York” (Altman). This shows that Tate is selfless because he  joined the military at a very dangerous point in time, during a war against Iraq. He risked his life for his country at such a young age and put the protection of others before himself, which is one of the things that makes him so special. Tate used skills that he had picked up while he was serving to help him found an organization to help African Wildlife. In the article, “An Anti-Poaching Project Misfires in Tanzania.” the author, Tom Peter, said, “A former U.S. Marine infantryman and Iraq veteran, Tate had spent more than a year using every contact in his personal network to build the anti-poaching organization”. Tate had used his special skills to protect animals that are in harm from poachers which shows his selflessness. This is only one thing that makes him a hero.

The main characteristic that qualifies Tate as a hero is how caring he is. To record how special he is Howard Altman wrote, “With a team of veterans from U.S. Special Forces, Army and Air Force, VETPAW trained 400 local park rangers and assisted the Tanzanian Wildlife Anti-Crimes Task Force in targeted undercover operations that resulted in the arrest of 50 poaching suspects. The operation crippled several criminal poaching networks, according to the group's website”(Altman). Tate founded an organization that helps wildlife and prevents poaching in Africa. He cares for the animals so much even though they wouldn't affect him otherwise. To prove his love for animals Kristen Rizzo wrote, ¨He soon grew to appreciate wildlife immensely. From sheets to bookends, his room was themed in all things rhinoceros. He was even nicknamed “Ryno” because he loved the species so much”(Rizzo). This shows how much he had loved animals such as rhinos. He had become caring even from a young age. He grew up to do great things for animals in founding his VETPAW organization. This is why Ryan Tate is a hero.

VETPAW members with rhinosrealclearlife.comThe main characteristic that qualifies Tate as a hero is how caring he is. To record how special he is Howard Altman wrote, “With a team of veterans from U.S. Special Forces, Army and Air Force, VETPAW trained 400 local park rangers and assisted the Tanzanian Wildlife Anti-Crimes Task Force in targeted undercover operations that resulted in the arrest of 50 poaching suspects. The operation crippled several criminal poaching networks, according to the group's website”(Altman). Tate founded an organization that helps wildlife and prevents poaching in Africa. He cares for the animals so much even though they wouldn't affect him otherwise. To prove his love for animals Kristen Rizzo wrote, ¨He soon grew to appreciate wildlife immensely. From sheets to bookends, his room was themed in all things rhinoceros. He was even nicknamed “Ryno” because he loved the species so much”(Rizzo). This shows how much he had loved animals such as rhinos. He had become caring even from a young age. He grew up to do great things for animals in founding his VETPAW organization. This is why Ryan Tate is a hero.

Works Cited

Altman, Howard. "VET'S BATTLE: SAVE THE RHINOS; Inspired by a film, a Plant Highalum's nonprofit protects African wildlife." Tampa Bay Times [St. Petersburg, FL], 2 Oct. 2017, p. 1. Student Resources In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A507676689/SUIC?u=powa9245&sid=SUIC&xid=d999b779. Accessed 5 Dec. 2018.

Levith, Will. “Meet the Ex-Marine Fighting African Poachers One Tusk at a Time.” RealClearLife, 22 Sept. 2017, www.realclearlife.com/nature/ryan-tate-vetpaw-african-poachers/.

Peter, Tom A. “An Anti-Poaching Project Misfires in Tanzania.” Al Jazeera America, 2 Sept.2015, america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/9/2/anti-poaching-project-misfires-in-tanzania.html.

Rizzo, Kristen. WAN Exclusive With the Founder of VETPAW Ryan Tate. World Animal News,23 June 2017, https://worldanimalnews.com/wan-exclusive-with-vetpaw-founder-ryan-tate/. Accessed 10 Dec. 2018.