Sunday, August 13, 2006

why pandas SHOULD die

Every once in a while you hear that a species of bird or lizard is gone. Or thought to be gone because no one has seen them around the newly constructed condominiums lately where the nests and burrows used to be. No one has seen them for weeks, and some people arrive to go looking for them with their maps and cameras, hoping to wire back a picture of them, that they are alive, frightened and hungry, but alive, so we can cheer from our sofas at home, still not doing anything to stop the madness that's brought us here beside the lumber mills and cement mixers the banks have financed to get the world happy and chasing a dream.

Every once in a while one species is growing weaker in their shrinking forests and we hear about them and they sure are cute. The cute ones must survive, they're so cute after all. And the kids write letters from schools all over the United States of America to save the fuzzy black and white bears of China. Some experts say its possible. We can do it, we can DO it! We can save them!

We can save them? Meaning we will end the destruction of their natural habitat? Stop cutting down the trees? No, of course not, we can't stop now, the economies of the world are at stake. But the good news is we're getting better at breeding pandas in captivity. Soon we'll be able to have them all to ourselves, they're so cute. No more hiding their cute fuzziness from us in the forest, it's to the zoo with them!

When's feeding time? We'd like to stop back with the kids. Watching endangered species eat in the safety of the zoo is a wholesome family activity. Hey, have you ever seen them, ah, you know, have sex!? Wow, you have it on film!? Get out, are you serious!? Wow! And you've seen the footage yourself? That's so amazing! Can the rest of us see it sometime please? Yeah, really? That would be so cool!

Seriously.
Ask yourself.
Do we deserve the animals on this planet?
Do we deserve them enough to keep them behind bars?

Pandas are the most difficult animal to breed in captivity. They don't like it. They want to be in their forests. But their forests are disappearing, and soon, like many species, they will no longer have a foothold on the Earth.

Are we brave enough to save their habitat?
Are we brave enough to at least allow the species to disappear if we are not brave enough to save their habitat?

How weak will we prove to be?
Animals kept alive for our amusement, for our dream of another, more wild, natural world.

CAConrad
(for info on my book Deviant Propulsion, click HERE)

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