I received a heartbreaking email today from the Humane Society International regarding the extreme heat and resultant bushfires in Australia. I get angry reading these emails because years of ignoring the warnings about global warming has brought our world to this point, and as usual its the most powerless, in this case animals, who will be hardest hit by it. It’s a truly dire situation worldwide, exacerbated by the demand and drilling for fossil fuels, lands for animal agriculture and real eatate development. Wildlife are in serious decline, and this is very sad and bad news for us all.
The good news is that we can still turn this around, making positive the need for conservation and the creation of many more wildlife and nature conservation organizations, workers and jobs. Wildlife does need our ongoing care and attention now. To not intervene is no longer the best way, as survival and adaption to the new world of climate changes, reduced habitat and human interaction and human made threats needs to be constantly monitered and wildlife helped if they are to survive.
The best ways of helping wildlife is protecting wildlands and waters, ending culls and commercial hunting and trapping, and stopping the eating of all animal products, as animal agricultural is the biggest waster and spoiler of wild lands. Another good way of helping and insuring wildlife’s survival and thrival is increasing the number of good and smart, knowledgable and caring people and organizations, government agencies working and caring for them. For example, instead of culls we can maintain wildlife populations in a kind, humane way and that would create jobs, careers and protect nature as well.
This requires funding and initiative,from governments and people, and for true animal lovers and activists training and entering into animal wildlife and nature care fields. With care, conservation and help wildlife can thrive, adapt and survive. We can no longer expect them to be able to do so on their own.
We need to prioritize wildife and their habitat, nature as crucial and of vital importance. With the resulting jobs and humanity being at peace with the natural world would enhance life, not take anything for it. The beliefs we can only care for humans or animals, not both, and that helping animals, caring about conservation hurts humanity are myths and opportunist lies from the hunting angling lobby, and animal use industries, and are a big part on why the war on wildlife and nature continues. We can help and thrive both humans and animals, and need to ignore the claims we can’t as they are not based on fact, and reason, and have been proven incorrect.
The demands of hunters, anglers mining and oil gas companies, real estate and business development need to come secondary to the needs of nature and its species. Rewilding, prioritizing legal protections and a less wasteful culture are also necessary. Poverty reduction and global basic income plans, green industry to stop the need to murder and plunder nature for gain would also help.
These are big, overall changes, but with very little impact on human life and no negative impact on human quality of life. They needs, as does our world and culture in general, a status quo run by good, brilliant, kind and smart ideas and people, and an educted and engaged public. Its what we have to do or the violent, dead, nature and animal free, merciless distopian vision that’s the trend today with be our sad reality tomorrow. Wildlife and nature are life and anti distopian. They are a part of a rich, alive, enlightened and beautiful world. Let us as humanity choose that vision and say yes to helping wildlife and their habitat in everyway possible.
(Top picture: Rescuing koalas from Austrailian bushfires/Time Magazine)
