Dr. Jane Goodall has an important message for all of us and you won’t want to miss it
For those of you who don’t know, Dr. Jane Goodall is an 86-year-old English primatologist and anthropologist that has dedicated her life studying primates and fighting for animal and human rights.
Earlier this week, during a conference call with National Geographic, she said that she believes that our disrespect for animals might have had a bigger impact on the world pandemic we are living right now. Bigger than we initially thought.
The anthropologist further explained that, as we destroy our wildlife habitats, we force ‘’the different species of animals in the forest are forced into proximity and therefore diseases are being passed from one animal to another, and that second animal is then most likely to infect humans as it is forced into closer contact with humans.’’
Ok, but have we significantly destroyed wildlife habitats?
According to Animal Matters, approximately 5,760 acres of wildlife habitats are destroyed per day. Not only that, but one of the main causes of habitat loss is climate change.
Adding to this, in a report on SDG 15 — Life on Land — from 2010 to 2015, one-fifth of the Earth’s total land area was destructed due to human-induced processes. Besides this, there was a decline in land recovery efforts.
Considering the facts, we are unarguably the reason why animals are being forced to live closer in nature.
Can you imagine what it would be like if someone destroyed our cities and we were forced to live in one tiny room? Because that’s what we are doing to our animals.
Now that we understand our contribution to the destruction of wildlife habitats we are faced with a different question. How is our disrespect for animals contributing to the spread of diseases?
Dr. Jane Goodall argues that it’s because we disregard the conditions our hunted animals live in when we crowd them together in our farms or meat markets. In her opinion, this ‘’creates an opportunity for the viruses to jump from animals across the species barrier to humans’’.
Further in her speech, the scientist also made a point to mention that, sometimes, people don’t have the choice to opt for options that are cruelty-free and, consequently, safer, as their only option is to rely on the cheaper resources.
It’s really important that she pointed out the fact that some people don’t have a choice. Because, unfortunately, many people can’t choose safety.
According to a report on SDG 1 — No poverty — as of 2019, the progress of poverty reduction is decelerating, so much so that experts believe that, by 2030, 6% of the world population will still live in extreme poverty. Completely missing the target.
In the end, the truth is, we have the option of taking action and changing this scenario. We can take action toward climate change and help reforest all the lost habitats. We can take action toward poverty and help people choose to be safe and ditch unsafe food options. We can take action toward animal cruelty and make different choices.
In the end, we have the power to change, the only thing we are lacking is willingness. So, my question is, are you WILLING to make a change?
