A book review by Tracy Horvath
Sustainability Studies Student
I have to admit when I first started reading Animals in Peril– How Sustainable Use is Wiping Out the World’s Wildlife, I thought, great! Finally, someone is taking a serious look at saving wildlife. After a few chapters the moral of the book was completely different than my first thought. It seems greed is the resounding reason that humans destroy nature and its inhabitants! The introduction chapter discusses how animals should pay their own way in order to survive by being utilized to produce economic benefits. Animals don’t even know what this means yet humans are involving them.
The economic benefits of destroying habitat and killing animals are still unclear to me after reading the book. I believe the majority of humans have a vested interest in “caring for Earth,” of course it is the planet we live on and we only get one planet, but the speed of life and the lack of patience blended with a sense of entitlement have clouded judgments to the point that we have looked away from the mass destruction happening in front of us. The book has overwhelming numbers and percentages of loss and it can feel as if one person being interested in the plight of animals won’t matter. The Humane Society International’s webpage offers numerous ways to get involved and also lists their accomplishments each year, which is a welcome read after seeing all the damage being done.
The book describes the term “sustainable use” as having a warm, reassuring tone to it which seems to combine wise development, sound conservation, and careful concern for future generations. Its application has been less benign, involving lots of “use” but not much “sustainability.” Of course, there are countries that depend on some animals for food and wages, but the price of the animals has increased to the point that humans will do anything to meet the demand which is why the planet is running out of animals. Here is a great resource for topics on animals.
I can’t even imagine a world without animals! They were here first and we are all lucky enough to share it with them. But instead of enjoying their beauty and appreciating the animals for what they are, humans have managed to put them on the brink of extinction.
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