Extinction
The animals living on our Earth are facing some of the hardest conditions currently, causing about 36% of all species on our planet to be in danger of extinction.
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Currently, humans are in the process of causing the 6th major extinction event.
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As humans continue to destroy organism’s habitats, hunt, and eat animals, we are hurting our world more and more.
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We have already killed more than 60% of wild animals and if we do not stop soon, our world will be so imbalanced that humans will also go extinct.
The Importance of Animals
Every organism that is on this Earth is important in some way, or else they would not be here.
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As more and more animals are driven to extinction, there is going to be an increased imbalance of our planet.
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Large herbivores and predators provide ‘top-down’ control on ecosystems which is crucial in providing stability. The loss of these larger animals can result in rapid, widespread changes which will be irreversible.
Small mammals are also crucial because they provide important critical functions. For example, they disperse seeds, consume vegetation and invertebrates, and distribute soil.
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The loss of mammals alters the function of ecosystems, resulting in the loss of food security for hundreds of millions of individuals.
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As you see, every animal has a role on this planet and if a species goes extinct, it disrupts an entire ecosystem.
Hunting and Butchering
The primary reason for hunting animals is to catch meat for consumption.
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Hunting has caused 301 terrestrial mammal species to be threatened with extinction in developing countries.
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The emergence of deadly diseases and viruses are becoming more common since both hunting and butchering causes there to be high levels of contact with bodily fluids. Previously we have seen that Ebola, HIV-1 and -2, Anthrax, Salmonellosis, Simian foamy virus and other zoonotic diseases were caused by contact with bodily fluids. Since our rates of international trade in human movement and wild meat has increased, the chances of a global health consequence are likely.
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If you think about it, this sounds a little bit like COVID-19 where the virus started in a wet market, where animals are slaughtered and sold, and then spread to the rest of the world.
What is yoUR Impact?
When you go plant-based, you help resist the extinction of numerous species because you save their land and resources.
