One by one the earth’s creatures are disappearing thanks to man’s selfishness.
Apparently, wild seahorses were once found in every ocean from 20 - 100 feet below the surface but over the past 10 years their numbers have dropped by around 70 percent. Nowadays they’re so rare that they’re hardly ever seen.
Why? Because over 20 million of them have been harvested year in and year out for use in ‘natural medicine’, primarily as a natural form of Viagra.
Now I’m all for natural medicines as long as they do the job but not when innocent creatures are threatened with extinction and certainly not when it’s for nothing more than us humans being able to get our legs over more often!
When we will learn that we can’t just keep on taking from nature? Sooner or later the balance will be so off kilter that nothing, humans included, will be able to survive.
Sharon J
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7 comments:
And let's be brutally honest here, a lot of the world's problems would be eased if we didn't get our legs over quite so often!
Its obscene the way that the huge majority of the human race takes nature, and all that it provides for granted.
Respect is supposed to be one of the most important lessons we learn as human beings, but with so little of that around for each other I do fear the worst for our planet.
We all have it in us, Native Americans and other such indigenous peoples understood this and respected their land and creatures.
As the Arapaho said "Take only what you need and leave the land as you found it."
When I read the title I wondered where the post was going ;)
What I find sad is that we have a paradigm about hierarchy - we humans deserve/take what we want from nature. Thanks for making us aware, won't forget this one in a hurry.
I love mouseDemon's comment! Very true!
Seahorses are amazing creatures. Plymouth Aquarium is currently undertaking a seahorse breeding programme to try to prevent certain species dying out, and I always make a beeline for the seahorses whenever we go there (well worth a visit if ever you're in the vicinity).
I love seahorses!
I guess this is one of the problems of supporting natural medicine. People want to go 'natural' but they don't think of the consequences. To save the seahorses are people willing to go 'synthetic'?
Nowadays it is trendy to use natural products - people say it is better for the environment - but is it really? it seems like going 'all natural' isn't the way - think what it would do to the environment if 6.5 billion people went 'all natural'? There needs to be a happy and healthy medium.
Godt nytt år!
The poor lil things! Its not just sea horses tho, so many Australian species of all varieties are becomming extinct due to land clearing. Residents are wondering why their yards are being invaded by wildlife of the nasty kind....Umm der....you built your McMansion smack bang on top of their habitat!
xoxoxox
@ MouseDemon. This is very true :)
@ GrowUrOwn. The Native Americans are very wise people indeed. We have a lot to learn from them.
@ Frugal Trenches. Taking what we want instead of what we need is without doubt the worse thing we humans do to the planet.
@ Caroline. I can't see myself being in Plymouth in the near future but if I ever do go, I shall remember that :)
@ L-Jay. Excellent point. Natural isn't always best and we do need to think about the consequences of 'natural' more.
@ Cabbage Heart. I think that kind of thing is happening everywhere, except we don't have dangerous creastures here in the UK. People still moan when badgers etc come into their gardens though, even though it was their choice to go live in the countryside.
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