When considering the plight of species like the spotted owl or the Stephen’s kangaroo rat, there’s a novel approach to the problem that no one has seriously considered. I know others before me have suggested it, but I think the idea bears repeating: we should start eating them. I cannot say that I’ve tasted a kangaroo rat, but I’m sure that with the proper seasonings it could be made to taste wonderful. By the same token, we ought to revive the trade of ivory harvested from elephants and rhinoceroses, the whaling industry, and encourage the development of other animal-based products. Who knows, bald eagle eggs could become a breakfast favorite.
These suggestions are not made in jest, either. Instead, they represent a novel approach to solving the crisis faced by these and many other species across the world. The real problem with the current approach to saving endangered species is tied up in two facts: First, I don’t care about most of these animals.
I know it sounds cruel, but I really don’t have any care for most of the endangered species. I mean, I’d probably be willing to put up a bit of money to save the lion or the tiger from extinction. Just knowing that those animals around gives me some benefit that I’d be willing to pay to have. The problem comes with creatures like the kangaroo rat.
Now, I’ve never seen a kangaroo rat. Nor do I have a burning desire to actually see a kangaroo rat. In fact, should the entire species disappear from the face of the earth, I can’t say that I’d lose any sleep over it. Why? I don’t get any benefit from this animal’s continued existence, so I really don’t care what happens to it.
How can this situation change? By giving the rat some value. If the thing became a delicacy, then I’d actually have a vested interest in keeping it around, either because I liked eating them or because I liked raising them to sell to others to eat. Regardless, I would suddenly care a great deal about keeping the kangaroo rat alive and well.
The situation of the African elephant certainly illustrates this concept. After years of trying to halt elephant hunting, African countries began to realize that no amount of control could stave off the poachers. The solution reached by several of these countries was to legalize limited elephant hunting, with the proceeds from the individual hunting licenses going to finance public works like schools and roads. Suddenly, everyone involved had a vested interest in keeping the elephant alive. The hunters could legally kill the animals and harvest the ivory and the people within a country would want to keep the populations intact so as to continue to collect hunting revenues. Everyone wins, even the elephant.
A similar occurrence happened to the American alligator after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allowed their commercial breeding. Wild alligator populations have now exploded, while alligator farmers are doing quite well. Again everyone wins.
Under the current Endangered Species Protection Act, though, everyone loses. Those who discover endangered species on their property have no incentive to keep the animals alive, since, if they do, they are barred from doing anything that would destroy the habitats of the animals. Consider the spotted owl in the northwest part of the U.S. Due to the animal’s protected habitats, timber companies are unable to harvest from certain areas, with sales losses reaching nearly $24 billion, as reported in a study conducted by the University of California, Santa Barbara. Or the giant Delhi Sands fly recently found in planned enterprise zone in San Bernardino County in California, which is being considered for listing as an endangered species. If it is, the 20,000 jobs the zone would create will be lost.
The current economic cost of protecting the endangered species of this country is staggering. Current legislation only encourages the ‘shoot, shovel, shut up’ approach already adopted by many land owners. Instead, why not consider finding tangible value in these species so that their existence is beneficial to those who find them. After all, when was the last time you heard of an endangered cow?