10/19/2022
Good read, and we certainly need to pay attention to this.
A harsh dose of reality for those who care about our common home: Earth
A study released a few days ago revealed that wildlife on the planet has declined by 70% over the last 50 years, the greatest mass decline of life since the dinosaurs. (read that again!)
And it's all our fault.
The study points to human population growth as the cause, and if you study time lapse satellite photos of the Earth, (and I have) you can clearly see human development booming as natural places shrink and even disappear.
And there is nothing that is going to change cause and effect. As long as we reduce wild places, the animals will overpopulate those reduced areas and decline from lack of space with increase in disease, issues from lack of genetic diversity and resource struggles.
We are slowly losing our wildlife.
Granted, North America has only lost 20% of it's biodiversity since 1970 compared to 94% reported in South America, but before we get all proud of ourselves to not be the worst, North Americans consume 3 times the natural resource limit to protect the balance and health of our footprint and in that case, we are in the top 3 worst on the planet. In other words, we will eventually catch up as the worst. We just haven't been here long enough.
Back to my field of cause and effect;
Wildlife rehabilitation since I began nearly three decades ago was regarded as a "hobby" more than a profession or even necessary. It was barely regulated in my state which changed dramatically soon after I was licensed. Today it is regarded with far more credibility, however since there are no "owners" responsible for the bill, it is still a struggling field with little or no government funding and grants are few and far between, many of them focused on education, leaving out those of us who choose to keep our efforts private for the animals and educate online. Fortunately I turned to social media early on and have secured our efforts (so long as Facebook is a thing) but I am only serving a drop in the bucket of need which is far more than my share, and that needs to change.
So WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
WE need to change!
"Urban wildlife" and "nuisance animals" have been fairly synonymous all of my years as a rehabber. We take THEIR space and then regard them as the problem. I agree that human habitat is not safe or ideal for wildlife, but trapping and killing isn't an acceptable solution, especially considering their decline. Trapping services need to evolve to "exclusion" services, relocation being the alternative. NOT killing.
"COEXIST" a novel concept? Maybe for some. Many of us live that life already. We need to reduce threats to our "backyard" wildlife and increase our efforts to prevent harm and stop being such big jerks in a world that we are taking over piece by piece.
If you don't want wildlife in and around your house, fix your house and don't invite them. Bird feeders, unsecured trash and "outside at night" pet food invites wildlife in. The territorial killing needs to stop and we need to learn to share space.
Every year we intake hundreds of nesting and nursing wildlife brought home by domestic animals, primarily outdoor cats, and those are just the ones who survive and are discovered. Mind your pets. I am not picking on domestic animals here. I have saved hundreds of cats and dogs over many years, but I am also one that watches their "would be" prey suffer and often die or we euthanize for lack of hope by the hundreds all spring and summer long. My job is to advocate for the wildlife and I am asking for your support if you care. If not, that is your choice and nothing I have to say will change your priorities. Just be aware that your outdoor "hunter" is not unique and is part of a major tragedy every spring for wildlife.
Toxins. Every time we use a toxin we poison someone's home including our own. We operate without toxins and don't have insect or rodent issues. It is very possible.
We use house geckos to control inside insects within our facility. Relocate and welcome non venomous snakes around our facility for rodent control. Free range (during the day) chickens for outside insect control and diatomaceous earth and "First Saturday Lime" to discourage invasive insects around buildings and cages. If we have to spray inside, we use all natural pest controls such as Wondercide that won't harm our animals.
I don't want to live in a world without wildlife, and as urban wildlife become more and more common, their clashes with our hazards will continue to increase as their populations struggle for room and resources. We NEED our wildlife rehabbers! We need incentives to recruit more into the profession, we need wildlife rehab facilities to be as necessary as domestic shelters and we need to stop making it all someone else's problem to solve. There are far too many areas without any support for wildlife, and of those who try to help there are too many who "close up shop" for lack of resources to operate or lack of proper training to succeed.
"Nature taking it's course" is no longer a valid excuse to ignore wildlife in need of assistance because that implies we had nothing to do with the damage. We ARE the damage and we need to change the way we do things BEFORE the only place you can find a bobcat is in a zoo. Thankfully I won't be around to see it, but some of you may. Time to care.
Spread the word!
Annette
(Link to the study posted in the comments. Something ELSE to keep those of us who worry about EVERYTHING up at night...)
