Thoughts: Carnivores in Sweden
Carnivores in Sweden
Me and my best friend went to an evening lecture about carnivores and carnivore management. Swedish carnivores and everything about them (even all the fuss) is something I spend some of my time thinking about. The relation between man and animal is often such a complex and deep issue and thus leaves room for a lot of observing, thinking and philosophizing...
To start with, a carnivore is an animal whose main diet is meat. Obligate or true carnivores are animals who must eat meat in order to survive and/or reproduce. In Sweden we have many carnivores. Like in Africa we also have "the big 5" - which here refers not to the to the lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard, but instead to the:
♦ Brown Bear (Ursus arctos)
♦ Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
♦ Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)
♦ Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx)
♦ Wolverine (Gulo gulo)
Bear, eagle, wolf, lynx and wolverine / Google
These animals (maybe not so much the eagle in the real sense) can be seen more or less as threats to humans and our lifestyles, hobbies and activities. I think it is very important to keep things apart while discussing the issue between humans and carnivores, or humans and nature on the whole.
First - in my opinion - we have the existential truths that these animals are walking the Earth today, they have been doing that for a longer time than human beings and they are not created by us. No one can say anything about that. Right?
We also have all the facts that science is providing about these animals. Where the different animals live, what they eat, how they behave and also what part in the ecosystem they play. Being a student of biology and ecology, I feel sad when I notice the big lack of knowledge about our carnivores among the general public. This lack of knowledge comes along with a lack of understanding and often many false assumptions. When we don't understand, we also tend to be more negative. False ideas about animals can even lead to hate. I think that much more light have to be shed over the nature of carnivores. I guess we have to know more about animals, so we can also understand that they can never change their way of life. That is something only humans can do. They don't have a choice - we do.
Red fox / Google
Last we have something that many of us seem to think is the most important part; human needs (or... are they really needs?) and our economy. My personal opinion is that this part is taking way too much room in the discussion about the carnivores. The discussion always revolves around economy and what we think is best for us humans. It's like we could never take a step back and find a compromise. Are we taking for granted that we are the center of life (like when we thought that our planet was the center of the universe) and that nature should bend for us in all situations?
It's not that I don't understand that these animals can cause problems for some people. Some feel scared walking in the forest, some suffer livestock losses leading to loss of money while others feel that the carnivores are disturbing their own hunting. What I think is that we have to be able to look at our relationship with nature on a deeper level. I also think that we have to be honest and fair when we look at our own role in the ecosystem.
A lot of the negative opinions about animals seem so egoistic to me. I've seen people write "shall we have wolves in Sweden?". I don't think that is a question that should be asked at all. We humans have not created wolves and for that reason we have no right at all to exterminate them. We have done that once (such a shame) and I can't believe that some people would want that to happen again. We should be proud to have these animals in our country. At the end of the lecture I heard an old man yell out "SHOOT THE WOLF!".
What's wrong with some people? How can they really justify their opinions?
Gray wolves
I feel that the carnivores have all the rights to be in Swedish forests. They have already suffered enough from our activities. We have taken big parts of their habitats, we are hunting their food, we are poisoning their drinking water and we are constantly threatening to end their existence. I think that the consequences we humans face is far smaller than the ones animals suffer, and those consequences are something we have to take. We are just making such a big thing about it. Someone said at the lecture "these animals only cost money, they don't give any money back!" I think it's our own activities that are untenable when we have to manipulate nature. We cost money for ourselves. We have to pay the price for messing up the natural balance and for our stubborn demands for convenience. It's time to take a step back.
"I'm afraid walking in the forest. I have never seen a bear, but just knowing that they're there makes me very uncomfortable. I think we should hunt more bears". This could be an argument for killing bears. I think this is crazy, really. People have phobias (an excessive, unreasonable fear) of just about anything. That is not an argument to kill the bears, wolves, spiders, snakes, ants... or what the phobia may be about.
We have the carnivores' hearts in our hands. We could get rid of them and make our country "carnivore-free" if we wanted. I hope that we in the near future can be able to see this in a bigger perspective than just our own convenience and economy, and show some respect to these unique and majestic creatures.
Friends / Google
To start with, a carnivore is an animal whose main diet is meat. Obligate or true carnivores are animals who must eat meat in order to survive and/or reproduce. In Sweden we have many carnivores. Like in Africa we also have "the big 5" - which here refers not to the to the lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard, but instead to the:
♦ Brown Bear (Ursus arctos)
♦ Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
♦ Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)
♦ Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx)
♦ Wolverine (Gulo gulo)
Bear, eagle, wolf, lynx and wolverine / Google
These animals (maybe not so much the eagle in the real sense) can be seen more or less as threats to humans and our lifestyles, hobbies and activities. I think it is very important to keep things apart while discussing the issue between humans and carnivores, or humans and nature on the whole.
First - in my opinion - we have the existential truths that these animals are walking the Earth today, they have been doing that for a longer time than human beings and they are not created by us. No one can say anything about that. Right?
We also have all the facts that science is providing about these animals. Where the different animals live, what they eat, how they behave and also what part in the ecosystem they play. Being a student of biology and ecology, I feel sad when I notice the big lack of knowledge about our carnivores among the general public. This lack of knowledge comes along with a lack of understanding and often many false assumptions. When we don't understand, we also tend to be more negative. False ideas about animals can even lead to hate. I think that much more light have to be shed over the nature of carnivores. I guess we have to know more about animals, so we can also understand that they can never change their way of life. That is something only humans can do. They don't have a choice - we do.
Red fox / Google
Last we have something that many of us seem to think is the most important part; human needs (or... are they really needs?) and our economy. My personal opinion is that this part is taking way too much room in the discussion about the carnivores. The discussion always revolves around economy and what we think is best for us humans. It's like we could never take a step back and find a compromise. Are we taking for granted that we are the center of life (like when we thought that our planet was the center of the universe) and that nature should bend for us in all situations?
It's not that I don't understand that these animals can cause problems for some people. Some feel scared walking in the forest, some suffer livestock losses leading to loss of money while others feel that the carnivores are disturbing their own hunting. What I think is that we have to be able to look at our relationship with nature on a deeper level. I also think that we have to be honest and fair when we look at our own role in the ecosystem.
A lot of the negative opinions about animals seem so egoistic to me. I've seen people write "shall we have wolves in Sweden?". I don't think that is a question that should be asked at all. We humans have not created wolves and for that reason we have no right at all to exterminate them. We have done that once (such a shame) and I can't believe that some people would want that to happen again. We should be proud to have these animals in our country. At the end of the lecture I heard an old man yell out "SHOOT THE WOLF!".
What's wrong with some people? How can they really justify their opinions?
Gray wolves
I feel that the carnivores have all the rights to be in Swedish forests. They have already suffered enough from our activities. We have taken big parts of their habitats, we are hunting their food, we are poisoning their drinking water and we are constantly threatening to end their existence. I think that the consequences we humans face is far smaller than the ones animals suffer, and those consequences are something we have to take. We are just making such a big thing about it. Someone said at the lecture "these animals only cost money, they don't give any money back!" I think it's our own activities that are untenable when we have to manipulate nature. We cost money for ourselves. We have to pay the price for messing up the natural balance and for our stubborn demands for convenience. It's time to take a step back.
"I'm afraid walking in the forest. I have never seen a bear, but just knowing that they're there makes me very uncomfortable. I think we should hunt more bears". This could be an argument for killing bears. I think this is crazy, really. People have phobias (an excessive, unreasonable fear) of just about anything. That is not an argument to kill the bears, wolves, spiders, snakes, ants... or what the phobia may be about.
We have the carnivores' hearts in our hands. We could get rid of them and make our country "carnivore-free" if we wanted. I hope that we in the near future can be able to see this in a bigger perspective than just our own convenience and economy, and show some respect to these unique and majestic creatures.
Friends / Google
Tankar & händelser - Permalink
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