I have written on the blackboard in my kitchen, 'Human culture was part of animal culture; now human culture is all there is.'
We impact every single living thing on this planet. We can choose whether they live or die. Not entirely. Some bacteria are pretty good at resisting our best efforts. But, the bigger the beast, the scarcer they are. Cows, which would have been relatively little creatures among the megafauna, are today's giants in most parts of the world. Carry on much longer, and we'll be lucky to see anything larger than a dog.
The big fell first as there were fewer of them - there are smaller numbers of creatures high up on the trophic pyramid - and they provided more food and glory per kill.
As humans get taller and fatter - actually, our domestic meat-factory animals do too - the wild shrinks into insignificance.
4% of the world's biomass is wild. Humans and their tame food sources, pets and so on make up all the rest.
Anyway, I want to say, wild creatures, liminal creatures, urban and feral creatures: you too count. You matter You live in the light and shade, the earth and the sea, of this shared planet. You may be a minority. You may be what gets forgotten when we think of global poverty and AIDS epidemics, factory farms and laboratory animals, but you are of value. Your plight is significance. Your flourishing is required by any account of ethics that stands up to scrutiny.
In my heart and mind, at least, I won't let the sun go down on you.
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