Question

Many people argue about whether or not it is important to save animal diversity. Should human hardship be factored into the equation? Set up your own personal debate, and come up with several reasons why maintaining animal diversity is important and then some scenarios of when you think human survival/benefit might be more important.

Answer 1

Sharing the earth with many different animal species has often raised the question for humans whether they must put their needs first or protect other animal species from being harmed. Whether we like it or not, humans have a love-hate relationship with all other animal species. At the end of the day it is a race for the available natural resources such as land and food. Thus, any harm that is brought upon the animal kingdom directly by humans, is mostly for the fulfilment of certain necessities. Apart from controlled deforestation and hungting for food, harming animal diversity by killing animals for entertainment and procurement of luxurious items (ivory, tiger skin, etc.) is not acceptable under any circumstances.

Maintaining animal diversity is important for maintaining the local and global ecological balance. The global ecosystem that we see today is a result of billions of years of co-evolution and co-existence. Thus, rapidly and completely removing even one species from an ecosystem with many other species may prove to have a cascading and catastrophic effect on the other species of the ecosystem. The main reason behind this is the existence of the "Food Web" and interspecific interactions for interdependence such as symbiosis. For example, if deer are removed from the forest due to extensive hunting by humans, it will result in the starvation of carnivores which depended upon the deer for food. Simultaneously, the particular herbs or grasses that the deer fed on would grow uncontrollably and eliminate other plants with slower speed of growth. Another example is the use of rodenticdes. A rodenticide was sprayed on a farm to kill some rodents. The death of rodents resulted in the rapid spread of other smaller pests which were normally kept in check by the rodents. Thus, it is evident that maintaining the diversity of animals is necessary for maintaining ecological balance and crucial for the survival of humans.

Until a few thousand years ago, humans did not have the capacity to cause rapid and extensive damage to the ecosystem. During those times humans were a part of the ecosystem and followed the rules of nature. However, with growing knowledge, humans have been able to overcome numerous challenges to ensure rapid population growth. While protecting the biodiversity, it must be noted that any animal species left to multiply in an unchecked manner will ultimately exhaust the available resources and harm other species. The animals that we protect will surely not care about our safety if they are hungry or are feeling threatened. For example, a tiger may enter a village looking for food and may cause harm to humans. In various parts of the worlds, herds of elephants and monkeys have been reported to enter and destroy farms. Thus, in such circumstances it becomes necessary to protect one's own needs before the need of the other.

In conclusion, being the most intelligent animal on the planet, it is the responsibility of the humans to take wise actions and strike a perfect balance between their own requirements and protection of animal biodiversity.