http://www.physorg.com/news91202480.html
I think some environmentalists have been blinded by perceived morality and trying to win battles instead of wars. One area where this is particularly visible is habitat destruction to make room for crops, there is a blanket notion that all habitat destruction is over-logging – while this is a significant problem – the wild habitats that were destroyed for the cotton shirt that I am wearing right now managed to kill almost every indigenous species where it was grown (Animals, Plants, Migratory Birds, Insects, Micro-organisms) and if you get into the issue of irrigation, erosion, depletion of rivers and aquifers – its hard to tell the total number of species adversely affected by agriculture. Another issue is sport hunting, however the hunting is carried out it seems to generate heated emotions. The fact is that sport hunting/sport fishing equal big dollars and this additional money may be more effective at controlling poaching in Africa’s parks then eradicating the horrific deaths of bred animals.
Quote:
“Others oppose hunting as a method of thinning deer herds, despite studies that show that in suburban areas where hunting is not allowed, deer quickly overpopulate and eat all available food, including expensive backyard flower gardens. The deer eventually suffer from malnutrition. Their growth is stunted, and they become vulnerable to disease. The deer also consume food needed by other wildlife, such as squirrels and songbirds.”
All kinds of misinformation and propaganda exist on all sides of this issue, thus its tough to come up with a comprehensive plan involving compromises and tradeoffs. These are the kind of issues where the Scientists, Economists, Naturalists, Extremist Environmentalists, Conservationists, Hunters, and even Religious Zealots need to look at the whole picture to best strategize how we can co-exist with the other species on our planet. Perhaps its human population control combined with terraforming and colonization of space that might have the best long term survival strategy for all involved.