Human Entitlement - How Our Entitlement Is Decimating Every Other Species Around Us

Human's have a serious issue with self entitlement. As a species, we are always on the hunt for more. More resources, more land, and essentially, more luxuries. We are easily inconvenienced and will usually go to any length to make ourselves comfortable, usually at the expense of other living creatures. Our warped sense of entitlement is pushing so many species to the bring of extinction and it might be too late for us to change our ways.

I look at the issues surrounding grey wolves in the United States as an example. Grey wolves were on the Endangered Species Act for nearly 45 years. Endless amounts of time, resources, and energy were funneled into rehabilitating grey wolves and bringing them back from the brink of extinction within the United States. In January of this year, animal-hating former President Trump shockingly removed protections for grey wolves, pandering to hunters and the livestock industry. Within 6 months, two US States had already adopted policies to wipe out grey wolves within their state, effectively undoing 45 years of conservation. Why? Because grey wolves are an inconvenience to humans and our entitled existence.

We grow and develop, taking more and more land away from the native species, who should by all accounts have equal access to this land. SO once we take their land, they become a "nuisance" to us. We take their land to produce livestock destined for slaughter. These farm animals become easy prey for local wolves because they are not enclosed in a manner that would prevent wolves from accessing them. Instead, we basically serve up tasty meals on a silver platter for wolves and then weaponize their access to promote the idea that wolves are bad and that we must euthanize them to protect our food sources. The story is spun to place all of the blame on wolves instead of looking at the real problem, humanity. 

Wolves are not the only ones susceptible to our sickening entitlement. Deer, swans, geese, skunks, all of these species have been targeted by humans who believe that they are a "nuisance" to our existence and should be eliminated to make our lives better. For example, every year in my hometown there is a deer cull at one of our parks. The story is spun to incriminate deer and suggest that if we do not kill them, they will cause irreversible damage to the ecosystem. No mention of the fact that there are absolutely no predatory animals that would naturally address the overpopulation of deer. No mention of the fact that maybe if we didn't utilize the park to such an extent, perhaps the deer would actually be fine to inhabit the park. You see? It's not about the environment at all, it's about how the deer will inevitably inconvenience us as humans.

Trophy hunting, fur farming, animal testing, these are all examples of our sickening sense of entitlement. To think that we can somehow justify the slaughter of an endangered animal like a giraffe or elephant, and spin the narrative to create this idea that trophy hunting helps aid in conservation efforts is entitlement to the highest degree. I deserve to kill a wild animal for fun, therefore I will sell it as anything I can so that I can do so. Fur farming is another example. We don't need fur, only those of us with absolutely no brains or compassion want fur. But, because humanity wants it, we will produce it at any cost. We know the horrors of the fur industry, we exploit these innocent animals and we do so because we want fur trims, or furry boots, with absolutely no regard for the animals that suffer beginning to end to produce said garments. Once again, a sickening display of entitlement.

Our relationship with other species has to change. Some say that humans are the most advanced and intelligent species but I refute that whole heartedly. We're not intelligent if we're taking every square inch of land around us for growing livestock. We're not intelligent if we cannot see the issues surrounding trophy hunting. We're not intelligent if we cannot see that we are destroying our planet, poisoning our waters, and decimating every other species on this planet. It has never been our intelligence that has motivated us in these situations, it's been our entitlement that fuels us. Our continued yearning for more, at any cost.

We're seeing a shift however. Animal rights are picking up steam across the globe. Fashion brands are banning fur and fur farming is on the decline. We are seeing animals in captivity released, recognizing the damage we've caused them through captivity. There is a shift, but will it be enough or is it too little too late? Are we fighting a losing battle against ourselves or is there truly hope that our relationship with our planet is changing for the better? I have faith that we can keep the momentum going, but I'm fearful that so many species on our planet will suffer extinction before we are steadily on the right track.

We have to relearn how to share this planet with other species, and that's a life lesson that isn't learned overnight. I simply hope we have our necessary awakening before it's too late.

HAPPY VEG