We’re Killing Our Cousins
August 5th, 2008 by SocProf and tagged Biodiversity, deforestation, Environment, Globalization, Mass Violence, Primates, Species Extinction, Sustainability, Trafficking
Près de la moitié des espèces de primates en danger d’extinction, Environnement – NouvelObs.com via kwout
Half of all species of primates facing extinction because of human activities. That’s according to a report from the International Primatological Society (IPS).
The situation is especially dire in Southeast Asia where 70 to 90% of species are threatened. In Africa, whereas media and activists attention has focused on the great apes, smal-sized lemurs are the first ones to disappear.
What the main causes of this situation? First and foremost, habitat destruction, deforestation, forest fires, but also hunting for meat (bush meat) and illegal trading of exotic animals..
Of course, as always, the decimation of species is a general threat to the balance of the ecosystem in which they live through the various interactions they have with other species. Desforestation is an enormous problem in itself.
And we also know that apes can be victims of war. For instance, during the Rwandan genocide, as Tutsis fled their homes to escape the genocide, they hid in the hills that are habitats to gorillas and other great apes. As these people struggled to survive, they killed apes for food. Considering how close they are to us, it might not be a bad idea to extend refugee protection to these species. Heck, we could even consider them indigenous peoples.
Posted in Biodiversity, Development, Economy, Environment, Mass Violence, Sustainability, Trafficking | 2 Comments »
August 7th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
> Considering how close they are
> to us, it might not be a bad
> idea to extend refugee
> protection to these species.
> Heck, we could even consider
> them indigenous peoples.
That approach to primates would serve them well, but I think the opposite would be true for the human groups that are deemed refugees and indigenous peoples.
That said, I agree that primates should receive extra care or protection — relative to other animals.
August 7th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
You know, I thought about that as I was typing it, that it might “downgrade” the status of refugees and IPs as well as IDPs… which is a sad thing to start with. It’s not like they’re treated well now.
Because, if we treated human refugees properly, this would not be as much of an issue.