With Respect for All Life
An Editorial

By Jennifer Bratton

(Page 4 of 4)

In the beginning of the last century, there was great concern about the possible loss of American wildlife and natural areas. President Theodore Roosevelt was one of the people at the forefront of this conservation movement. In the National Geographic article, he is quoted as saying that we should make “…the effort to keep our forest and our game-beasts, game-birds, and game-fish…from wanton destruction.” This statement provides insight into the founding purpose and current practice of the agencies in charge of land and wildlife conservation in the United States. President Roosevelt didn’t say beasts, birds, and fish; he said game-beasts, game-birds, and game-fish. The addition of the word ‘game’ gives an entirely different connotation to the statement. It implies that the animals’ purpose is for games, for the pleasure of hunters. It is no wonder then that so many of the current conservation efforts are carried out for the specific purpose of maintaining an animal population for hunting, and that many government fish and wildlife agencies are set up in such a manner that most of their revenues are generated by hunting and fishing.

In fact, with the continued decrease in the number of adult hunters in the United States, many of these agencies are concerned about how they will be funded in the future. The article mentions that “hunting groups and wildlife agencies are striving to enlist a new generation [of hunters].” But, logically, that is not the answer.

In the recent National Survey on Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation released by the USFWS for the year 2006, there is a category called ‘wildlife-watching participants.’ They make up over 30% of the adult population as opposed to the 5% hunters account for. This group includes nature photographers, bird watchers, and other people engaged in non-hunting activities. The National Geographic article mentions this, but then dismisses them, saying, “It is too soon to know whether the wildlife-watchers will bring enough money and enthusiasm to the outdoors to keep game species flourishing, much less to bankroll the nation’s state fish and wildlife agencies, which depend on hunting and fishing revenues for most of their funds.”

On the contrary, it is logical that something that does not harm another sentient life would grow and flourish, unlike the diminishing hunting population. Nevertheless, such an approach would require a change in the focus of these government agencies and a letting go of the way they are used to doing things. Instead of trying to get more people to take up hunting, the agencies could focus on developing services for these wildlife-watching participants. Such a stance, because it is for the good of the whole, would allow everyone and everything to flourish.

In fact, in another recent study done by the US Fish and Wildlife Service entitled Banking on Nature 2006: The Economic Benefits to Local Communities of National Wild Life Refuges, the article stated that 82% of the total expenditures in the refuges and communities around them are generated by non-consumptive users, meaning people who do not hunt or fish. In addition, the study looked at the difference between what people currently spend towards their respective activities versus what they would be willing to spend, what value it had for them. The survey found that most people would be willing to spend more than they currently do, in fact, a total of 860 million dollars more, 77% of which was from non-consumptive users. This should lessen the concern the USFWS has about these new wildlife-watching participants’ ability to generate money for the agency and the conservation programs they run.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service states that their mission is “working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continued benefit of the American People.” However, what is good for the fish, wildlife, and plants, is what is good for the American people, because we are all one. Nevertheless, many people hold onto this idea of separateness, of one life form being lower than the other, and yet, it is this notion of separateness that causes all our problems and suffering. The Wisdom Master has stated that signs of those who function unconsciously are displayed in blatant, blind belief in their singular separateness from other life forms. It is this belief that allows one to harm another sentient life.

The Wisdom Master has also taught, If everything has divinity, and nothing can be alive without divinity breathing it into life,…that’s our common denominator. Then, logically, when we harm another sentient life, we are harming ourselves as well because we are all part of divinity. However, the National Geographic magazine did not take this logical stance when it chose to publish an article full of reasons why hunting and fishing are an integral part of land and wildlife conservation. The magazine states that they are “inspiring people to care about the planet,” but caring about the planet means caring about everyone and everything that is a part of this planet, and the article, “Hunters: For the Love of the Land,” did not encourage that. As the Wisdom Master has said, A true human respects all life forms and practices kindness towards them, because a true human recognizes the oneness between himself and all life, and that he has evolved through the various species to become human. Therefore, to be truly human means we have awakened in consciousness.

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