According to the Book of Genesis, about 7,000 years ago, when the Great Flood wiped out life on Earth, the animals saved two each. Its hand-built arch became a sanctuary for creatures large and small, until the water receded and nature was able to reopen the mainland.
1898 – 1985
The challenge now is to save the planet’s natural wonders “one by one” as the storms regroup. Last week, the United Nations released a 1,800-page apocalyptic vision of a million species in danger of extinction due to the increasing demand for food, land and resources of the human population.
A ray of hope shines amid the tsunami of devastation. The SOS message may be a bit more practical than Noa’s binary mission, but the challenge of one of the most effective and progressive conservation and welfare tasks on the planet is saving animals for hours.
The International Welfare for Animal Welfare has been celebrating for 50 years to save and save the wildlife, pets and livestock of a modern world. Killing some of the larger marine animals that were established in the late 1960s to prevent commercial Canadian seal hunting and prevent illegal elephant poaching, rescue trapped marine life and captive big cats. I’ve seen IFAW’s work first-hand, visiting Iceland, where whales still hunt commercially, and tourists are celebrated to see these incredible creatures on organized tours rather than sampling their meat at Reykjavik restaurants. Attending the charity’s annual House of Lords awards ceremony.
IFAW’s Marine Mammal Research and Rescue Team on Cape Cod celebrated its 5000th call to rescue recently trapped dolphins and whales, while returning to the jungle after wandering alone in Burkina Faso, a young elephant named Nunia is being groomed. At the global level, the merit of IFAW is to unite people, be they scientists, decision makers, park rangers, farmers or fishermen, to face the challenges left by the planet’s natural heritage. Working with local people and communities is the essence of his work. This creates an air of optimism in the age of anxiety.
As IFAW President and CEO Azzedine Downes told me: “The report released last week offers a very comprehensive picture of what humanity has done for the planet, but I am a good friend and mentor, Dr. Jane Gudall. And your message will replace despair. As human beings, we are destroyed but we also have the ability to repair. If we lose hope, we simply will not survive. At IFAW, our mission is to inspire hope.
“In our work, we know that people all over the world have different points of view and come up with different solutions. And we also know that this work will lead us all to create a healthier, more sustainable and just world. So let’s work together. Saving individual animals at a time also creates momentum that can be the salvation of humanity. Humans make up less than 1 percent of life on Earth, but we’ve destroyed 83 percent of all wild animals and plants on the planet, explains Douse. Still, we are hopeful. Every species and every habitat has the potential to recover, and every person, everywhere, has the opportunity to act. The future depends on what we do now.
