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Nature & Environment

Do all species have an equal right to exist ?

By T.K. Randall
September 12, 2012 · Comment icon 42 comments

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Dr Sarah Chan is challenging the belief that every species on the planet should be preserved.
Her comments have stemmed from a recent report by the Zoological Society of London in which is listed the 100 most critically endangered species in the world. Dr Chan contends that to state that all species have a right to exist would mean that we would be faced with a moral obligation to resurrect all extinct species that have ever lived.

"When we say that all species have an equal right to exist, do we mean just all of the species that currently exist?" she said. "What about the species that have already gone extinct? I don't see any good reason to limit ourselves only to this precise moment in time in terms of the species that we should be concerned about."
The list of threatened species includes the pygmy three-toed sloth, the Jamaican rock iguana and Tarzan’s chameleon.


Source: Telegraph | Comments (42)




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Comment icon #33 Posted by Hartmut 12 years ago
I guess in a perfect world we could save them all but in reality I don't think we can or possibly should. Lets say if the mosquito was on that list, I would say let it die. Yes, but who would, should, or could decide which animal/insect has be saved and which has to die? We simply do not have the knowledge to foresee the potentially negative results of disrupting the delicately balance of nature.
Comment icon #34 Posted by Alienated Being 12 years ago
I'd disagree that we do not have the right to eradicate a species. If there is a creature that clearly endangers humans, it is those humans right to defend themselves. Yes, and this is what I agree with. And what I really meant anyway is that we have the right to control animals.... all of them. Almost every single animals exists on human sufferance and most of their populations are tightly controlled. If too many bears are living in Tennessee, something will be done about them. If there are too many elk, or mountain goat, or moose, then hunting is encouraged. We control almost all animal popu... [More]
Comment icon #35 Posted by lightly 12 years ago
Each creature fills a niche... each is part of the whole. Extinction of one affects life of others. The current human caused extinctions , from a myriad of causes, are like a disease of the entirety of Life on Earth. Take enough parts from the whole and and the whole ceases to function. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, all the king's horses and all the king's men Couldn't put Humpty together again.
Comment icon #36 Posted by Capt Amerika 12 years ago
Obviously we can not save all species, but every species has an absolute right to exist, and we, as just another animal, have no right to deny them a life, let alone wantonly kill them for "sport" nor should we do medical experiments/tests on them which are solely for OUR benefit. I just took the first step towards making flies extinct. I did it out of hate and for sport and i did it with a fly swatter. If i see another one buzzing me while i work today it too will die. and so on.....
Comment icon #37 Posted by Hartmut 12 years ago
I just took the first step towards making flies extinct. I did it out of hate and for sport and i did it with a fly swatter. If i see another one buzzing me while i work today it too will die. and so on..... Insects do not need humans to survive, but humans needs insects to survive! (probably miss-quoted, but in essence what David Attenborough said)
Comment icon #38 Posted by lightly 12 years ago
hmm ya, it seems that creatures at the top of the chain are the most vulnerable?
Comment icon #39 Posted by camogator 12 years ago
every creature has a right to compete. But creatures die out, thats evolution!
Comment icon #40 Posted by Sundew 12 years ago
Unless you want to put endangered animals and plants in zoos and botanic gardens, then we also need to preserve, as best we can, their habitats. These sanctuaries like zoos have their place, but habitat is shrinking and as it unravels more and more living pieces of the mosaic are lost. We think of the "creepy" forms of life as less desirable and I personally would like to eliminate many diseases and parasites, but we don't know what removing these pressures would ultimately do to plant and animal species and it may not be beneficial as there is some evidence that low levels of parasites can be... [More]
Comment icon #41 Posted by MontanaGramma 12 years ago
all species have a right to live, except spiders..they should all die
Comment icon #42 Posted by glorybebe 12 years ago
hhhmmmm......this reminds me of a Futurama episode. IMO, if they are animals that are going extinct because of man's modern actions and destruction of the world, yes, we should try to preserve them. But, if we look at animals that have been extinct for thousands if not millions of years, no, they went extinct for a reason.


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