It's the questions that challenge morality that are the toughest to answer.
There's never one absolute correct way to look at a situation — especially dire, riddled ones that require consideration and that spark debates.
Of all the social dilemmas that exist, ones that have to do with animal rights and safety often hit me the hardest. Here at LittleThings, we've witnessed many heartbreaking stories about animals who have been horribly neglected, or whose very vital rights have been forgotten.
There are, of course, ways to put a halt to animal cruelty. But what does one have to do when the lines between right and wrong are muddled? What if there's no one sure way to resolve a problem that will please everyone?
Australia is planning to set forth a nation-wide environmental strategy that will impact one of its largest animal species, in a very huge way. Is the government right to do this, or utterly wrong?
Read on to find out the complete story for yourself.
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The Australian government is setting forth a plan to cull up to 2 million feral cats in five years' time. These feral cats typically grow up to a size that is three times larger than a typical house cat, and can be among the most dangerous of predators toward the country's native animals. They are thought to be killing 75 million animals every day.
Government authorities hope that this plan will save several species from the brink of extinction. They've projected that 20 mammal, 20 bird, and 30 plant species will be saved by this plan.
"More than 80% of our mammals and 90% of our trees, ferns, and shrubs occur nowhere else on earth," the government said in a statement, reported by International Business Times. "But since European settlement, in just over 200 years, over 130 of Australia's known species have become extinct, lost to us and to the world forever. The list of those threatened with extinction continues to grow. Australia's threatened species are ours to protect and we all have a role to play."
Greg Hunt, the country’s federal environment minister, is adamant about the strategy. By 2020, he’s hoping that the plan will have set up five “islands” and 10 new “safe havens” that will allow animals to live in controlled, feral cat-free environments. These safe lands will stretch a total of 10 million hectares. Together, these enclosures will become one of the most expansive closed-off habitat areas in the nation’s Northern Territory.
Hunt continued to say that multiple methods will be applied to hunt down the feral cats, including baiting, shooting, and poisoning.
Gregory Andrews, Australia's first threatened-species commissioner, justified the plan on national radio. "It is very important to emphasize that we don't hate cats," he said. "We just can't tolerate the damage that they're doing anymore to our wildlife. Over 120 Australian animals are at risk of extinction from feral cats. So the scientific evidence is crystal clear that they're the biggest threat."
In total, 10 mammal species are on Australia's priority protection list: the mala, numbat, mountain pygmy possum, brush-tailed rabbit rat, western quoll, greater bilby, Kangaroo Island dunnart, eastern barred bandicoot, eastern bettong, and golden bandicoot.
There are no complete resolutions for barring animal extinction, unfortunately. Australia has had a history of "waging wars" against predatory species, including its European wild rabbits and cane toads, two species to have come under fire in recent years. Even more notoriously, the country's armed forces gunned down thousands of emus during the "Great Emu War" in 1932, to prevent the destruction of wheat crops.
There are many ways to look at this situation — myriad pros and cons, endless conversations to be had about the rights and wrongs of exterminating a species. Is it for the greater good, if one species is wiped out to save tens of hundreds of others? There is absolutely no right answer — there is only your opinion, what you think is right.
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