Management and Use of Wild Animals

Management and Use of Wild Animals
By: Bengt Holst

wild animals live and breed without human interference, they are the products of natural
evolution.
animal use
throughout human history, man has made use of wild animals. We have fished for,
trapped and hunted wild animals to acquire food and non-food products like fur. Wild animals have also
been a source of entertainment. Since ancient times they have been on display in circuses and markets.
In more recent times, zoos and wildlife parks have developed in large numbers, and it has become common
for ordinary people to keep wild animals such as fish, birds, and reptiles.
bringing wild animals into a discussion of animal use is that, increasingly, they are not
just left to live their own lives. In fact it seems fair to say that the human desire to conquer wild nature has
been all too successful, since many wild species have become extinct, and even more are believed to be
endangered. In reaction to this, a nature and wildlife protection movement has grown over the last 200 years.
Often this protection will take the form of active management, with some species being controlled in order to
allow other species to prosper.
From the point of view of animal ethics, an important shift of focus typically takes place when wild animals
are on the agenda. In discussions of the protection of domestic animals the focus is normally on the
individual animals. When it comes to wild animals, however, the focus is typically on the species or on a
population. What often seems to matter here is that a sufficient number of animals survive in the wild and
produce offspring. Whether individual animals or groups have a tough time often matters less – and indeed
may sometimes even be seen to make a positive contribution by applying the right kind of selective pressure
on the species as a whole.

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