Animals are natural resources that people have wasted all through our history.
Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers, for food, for sport, or simply because they were in the way. Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the world forever.
Hundreds more are on the danger list today. About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger. Why should people care? Because we need animals. And because once they are gone, there will never be any more.
Animals are more than just beautiful and interesting. They are more than just a source of food. Every animal has its place in the balance of nature. Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems. For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks (鹰), the com and grain they stored would be destroyed by rats and mice. Why? Because hawks eat rats and mice. With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the rats and mice multiply (繁殖) quickly.
Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals. Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem. And they try to get the governments to pass laws to protect animals in danger.
Quite a few countries have passed laws. These laws forbid the killing of any animal on the danger list. Slowly, the number of some animals in danger is growing.
