Philosophical Vegan Forum

Although I admire the work done by conservation societies, such as the Sea Shepards, I am more concerned with the reduction of individual suffering than the extinction of a whole species. To clarify, although I would be saddened by the killing of one snow leopard I would be more saddened by the killing of two cows. Although the extinction of species has increased since humans took over the planet, it also happened long before humans arrived, so in a way it seems natural for species to become extinct. Only exception would be when the extinction of one species seriously messes up the ecosystem.

I am indeed particularly worried about the extinction of essential actors in our ecosystem like bees. I am quite split on the whole conservation thing otherwise. For example, on the galapagos islands they shot thousands of goats to make room for the natural inhabitants (big turtles). That does not seem worth it to me.