# I Am Concerned About Animal Extinction



## Bretrick (Nov 24, 2021)

People ask me why I worry about whether native animals disappear.
My response is that critters have just as much right to survival as we do. We do not have the right to make them extinct. Most species have been on the earth for hundreds of thousands or millions of years, they belong here.
For some ridiculous reason we rate the "success" of a nation by using economic parameters or that other ridiculous measure, Sporting Prowess.
Many years ago I read a PETA article in which it spoke of Mahatma (Great Soul) Ghandi and his philosophy of nonviolence and the sanctity of life.
He stated, “To my mind, I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man.”
He also stated “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

25 years ago Australia signed up to the Convention on Biological Diversity which commits us to preventing the extinction of known threatened species. We also said we would support the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals which commits us to,
“Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species.”.
So we have done all the talking about what we promise to do, let us now show that we are a nation that stands by what we promise.
The reality is that we have for the most part ignored those commitments and continue to cut down trees at an alarming rate.


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## Murrmurr (Nov 24, 2021)

Bretrick, private organization's efforts are far more reliable than gov't efforts. There's a new ocean-clean-up movement I contribute to monthly, and it's getting huge in terms of participation (and therefore, progress).

( https://theoceancleanup.com/ )


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## Bretrick (Nov 24, 2021)

Murrmurr said:


> Bretrick, private organization's efforts are far more reliable than gov't efforts. There's a new ocean-clean-up movement I contribute to monthly, and it's getting huge in terms of participation (and therefore, progress).
> 
> ( https://theoceancleanup.com/ )


Yes. I have heard about the fantastic efforts regarding cleaning up the oceans.
Well done for your contributions.


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## Remy (Dec 3, 2021)

Murrmurr said:


> Bretrick, private organization's efforts are far more reliable than gov't efforts. There's a new ocean-clean-up movement I contribute to monthly, and it's getting huge in terms of participation (and therefore, progress).
> 
> ( https://theoceancleanup.com/ )


I saved the link to favorites. I'm going to look into it. I know the technology has to be there to clean up this nightmare.

I worry about animals all the time. Especially the wild ones.


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## feywon (Dec 3, 2021)

i share your concerns, Bretrick.  And yes i trust private efforts more than governmental ones. 
That said, do some research on PETA, they have often done more harm than good in many ways, including to animals they supposedly 'rescued'. The founders believed that having animal companions in our homes were tantamount to slavery. They once 'liberated' some research monkeys who were being used in testing to prove the efficacy of neuroplasticity and then traumatized them by shipping them to another state and then back again when they realized they could be charged with tampering with evidence in cases they pushed for against the researcher, who burned thru his lifesavings fighting the charges, eventually being cleared.

And nothing that was done to them by the researcher would have been permanent and was done 'ethically' except that they couldn't give consent like human research subjects. People who cared for them afterwards said the long round trip move was likely more permanently damaging to them than anything in Taub's lab. PETA even had NIH scared to back the guy, or PETA might go after other animal researchers too. The whole thing held back neuroplasiticity research for decades.

i wish we lived in a world where it was unnecessary to do* any* kind of medical testing/research on animals except with an eye to helping the species involved survive diseases, injuries. But there's a big difference between temporarily disabling a primate to find ways help humans recover from brain malfunctions/injuries and subjecting them to torture for sake of cosmetics development or than giving them a terminal ailment on purpose to test treatments which may or may not work in humans. Whereas brain wiring is much more translatable from one primate to another.

Eventually Neuroplasticity research has led to helping people regain function YEARS after strokes interfered with use of limbs, and is showing promise in helping people with Parkinsons', Cerebral Palsy and more.

For me the final straw was PETA's 'Sea Kittens' campaign...which featured a drawing of child hugging a fish--on dry land. The folks that say we should all eschew all animal flesh as food...is modeling slowly suffocating a fish to show how much you respect and love all animals.


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## Remy (Dec 3, 2021)

@feywon I'm plant based but I don't support PETA anymore or really any larger group like Farm Sanctuary. I donate local and I donate to a cat rescue who's live stream I follow on YouTube. None of the cats are caged unless they are ill at intake or something. Once cleared they are free to roam their indoor space while waiting adoption. And I think there are some that are permanent residents.


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## feywon (Dec 3, 2021)

Remy said:


> @feywon I'm plant based but I don't support PETA anymore or really any larger group like Farm Sanctuary. I donate local and I donate to a cat rescue who's live stream I follow on YouTube. None of the cats are caged unless they are ill at intake or something. Once cleared they are free to roam their indoor space while waiting adoption. And I think there are some that are permanent residents.



Probably have a better adoption rate because the cats are less stressed and their natural personalities more evident.  And they might even approach prospective adopters.

Altho we did once have a young (5-6 months) cat reach thru kennel bars to us at the Laramie animal shelter.  She had been abandoned in winter, a blizzard hit that night. Next morning she made it to a neighbor's dooe and they took her to shelter.  Tips of her ears severely frostbitten. I was looking at each cat but when she reached out and mewed, i could not leave her there.
No-else was looking at her.

We  adopted her. Had to have tips of ears amputated. Not the brightest cat we ever loved, but very sweet natured. Lived to her late teens.


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## fmdog44 (Dec 3, 2021)

Unless we stop building things on concrete, we will continue to shove animals off their land and you know we are not going to stop.


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## Alligatorob (Dec 3, 2021)

Bretrick said:


> People ask me why I worry about whether native animals disappear.
> My response is that critters have just as much right to survival as we do. We do not have the right to make them extinct. Most species have been on the earth for hundreds of thousands or millions of years, they belong here.


I have a more pragmatic view.  Biodiversity provides us more possible food choices and sources of medicines.  And probably other practical things.  Also it is hard to know the full impact of losing species.

I also am happier seeing a wide range of different plants and animals, as are many people.


fmdog44 said:


> Unless we stop building things on concrete, we will continue to shove animals off their land and you know we are not going to stop.


Yep, human population growth and habitat loss are the biggest problems, not easily solved.


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