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"Kay" wrote in message ... In article , BAC writes "Kay" wrote in message ... In article , Franz Heymann notfranz. writes It would be unwise for a pragmatist like me to say yes or no to such a possible false generalisation. There are circumstances where I would be prepared to participate in the eradication of some species in certain places for the sake of humans, or domesticated animals, for example Prickly pears for the sake of grazing field The common cold virus Malaria-carrying mosquitoes Bracken in the Lake District Hedgehogs in N Uist and Benbecula Cats on Marion Island Well, out of that lot, nos 1, 5 and 6 could be regarded as putting things right after introduction of species to places where they don't belong, What do you mean by 'places where they don't belong'? They didn't get there without human intervention. Right, so we're back to the 'non-native' judgement again. Pretty obviously, they are well suited to those places, I can think of many places where I would thrive, but where I don't belong ;-) LOL, if you would thrive in them, you would seem suited to them. and 5 and 6 are not primarily 'for the sake of humans or domesticated animals' - indeed, it was the *introduction* of hedgehogs that was 'for the sake of humans'. The extermination of the hedgehogs is for the sake of humans, too. It is for the sake of those humans who consider the continued presence on the islands of large breeding populations of certain species of birds to be important, and who believe that management of the hedgehog population is therefore a necessary expedient. If the presence of the hedgehogs merely threatened the survival on the islands of something to which humans assigned little importance (like the slugs they were reputedly imported to control), I doubt whether the RSPB or the local tourist industry would have lobbied SNH for their removal. OK, a fair point. And no 2 is an interesting one ... where do we draw the line .. how do we regard viruses, compared with plants, animals, fungi, bacteria ... I suggest that similar principles apply - if a virus or any other organism is perceived as a threat/nuisance, countermeasures are likely to be taken up to the point where the cost/effort/hassle involved starts to outweigh the anticipated benefits. That leaves questions about what are the benefits. Will removal of one species (whatever it is) have a knock on effect on others? Removal of a species may or may not have a significant knock on effect, adverse or beneficial, we do not know. Extinction is a fact of nature, however. Is it good to maintain as large a number of species as possible for its own sake? Depends what you mean by 'good', I suppose. Expressing belief in the supreme merit of the maximisation of biodiversity seems to be a tenet of faith amongst people engaged in conservation these days. or for potential future uses we don't yet know about? One way I have seen suggested for putting a value on a species is to estimate the total monetary worth of anything and everything which might be done with it in the future. As we have no way of knowing what might be done in the future, virtually every species can be argued to have an infinite value on that approach. Like every premium bond might hit the jackpot, one day, although that doesn't stop us from cashing them in for short term gain when we feel like it :-) And how much importance should we place on the furry cuddly factor? That and aesthetics? As much as we each consider appropriate, surely? After all, it seems to be in our species' nature to modify our surroundings to suit our own preferences. As gardeners, we do it all the time, don't we? Are you suggesting that instead of growing things we like, we should cultivate things we are told are 'worthy'? That'd be the day I gave up gardening. |
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