The salutary lesson of the passenger pigeon
Published:
January 22, 2015 at 4:41pm
If you support the No vote, equip yourself by being better informed, in conversation, than those arguing for the Yes vote. My column in The Malta Independent today is about the passenger pigeon, the most dramatic example from history of how even one of the world’s most populous creatures was rendered extinct within the space of four or five decades by lack of conservation awareness in a context of shooting for sport.
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http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2015-01-22/blogs-opinions/The-salutary-lesson-of-the-passenger-pigeon-6736129222
This is a brilliant read:
http://www.audubonmagazine.org/articles/birds/why-passenger-pigeon-went-extinct
Pity Mark Montebello isn’t of the Franciscans.
I also came across the following: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jun/30/stephen-emmott-ten-billion
Two great reads.
You know, I’ll start paying more attention to hunters when they put as much effort into it as this guy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=826HMLoiE_o
Meanwhile those voting YES have a look at what you’re supporting.
http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article9256617.ece/ALTERNATES/w620/p18birdsPA.jpg
The ‘No’ argument should also contain other realities related to the hunting issue, such as the grabbing of public land for sole use of hunters during open season.
The fact that the general public cannot enjoy the little countryside left unspoilt because it is not safe during hunting season. The RTO signs put up by hunters on public land.
May I also suggest to the Yes voters to watch the 2001 documentary “Winged Migration”. It might prick their consciences to see what these beautiful birds have to go through for survival.
All MPs and candidates should declare how they intend voting in the referendum. This will influence whom I will vote for in the 2018 general election.
Till now Marlene Farrugia has declared NO, and Godfrey Farrugia said Yes.
I truly believe these two have an agreement to publicly disagree on the hottest current issues in order to keep themselves (as a couple) strongly favoured by at least half the population at any one time.
and the Dodo
I’m not terribly excited by the ‘No’ side campaign so far and I’m not impressed with the rallying call ‘Shout’ but if I were to choose between ‘Shout’ and ‘shoot’ than I’m for ‘Shout’ anytime.
Deep down I strongly feel the issue is much more profound that it originally appears to be.
The issue is not ‘shout’ versus ‘shoot’ it isn’t even about ‘yes’ versus ‘no’.
In reality it’s all about life, the preservation and the sustainment of that life versus death.
The referendum is all about avoiding the killing, the death and the extermination of a bird, a flock and ultimately a species.
I agree that respect for life should be our focal point of the decision which way to vote in the referendum.
So many species have been wantonly destroyed because that respect for life has been lost.
The worst aspect of this loss is that humans seem to be gradually losing respect even for their own species.
The fate of the American buffalo is a good lesson on the need for conservation. Just 200 years ago the land reverberated with the thunder of the animals’ hooves. The numbers fell so rapidly because of people shooting them from trains for sport and hunting them indiscriminately that Americans sought to reverse the trend with the help of the European bison. And Yellowstone National Park had to import the wolf from Europe to restock its native packs.
The passenger pigeon was rendered extinct due to mass slaughter to provide cheap food for the poor at the turn of the century and changes in habitat and not as a result of sport shooting.
Your statement is inaccurate.
[Daphne – Do carry on defending the indefensible. I wonder just how far you’ll go.]
Actually no. Medieval Europeans ate birds because they couldn’t afford to kill cattle since they used them for milk/shearing.
This was never a problem in the New World, the birth place of the ranch.
History is littered with humans overkilling species to the point of extinction.
The passenger pigeon, the great auk, the wooly mammoth and possibly most famously, the dodo are just a few examples.
At the time these species were hunted to extinction humans were more ignorant and just couldn’t understand the severity and consequences of their actions.
The fact that in 2015, Simon Busuttil cannot grasp this and thinks it is more important to be consistent, as he put it, is ridiculous. We expected no less from Joseph Muscat, but then that’s the audience he plays to. From Simon Busuttil it was just so disappointing.
Ian, look at it from this point of view.
By sacrificing his vote, Busuttil removed the political element tied to the referendum giving the ‘No’ vote a better chance of winning.
Possibly, but come election time there will be one more reason for me to feel guilty about voting PN and yet I won’t have a choice.
In truth, we never really had a choice, Ian, but overall it was a good 23 years. That one has to admit.