The death of Harambe, a 17 year-old lowland gorilla, has been a huge topic in media the past few weeks. When I first heard the news, I thought what everyone else thought.
"Dumb mom. Dumb kid. How can she not watch her kids? I hate zoo's."
Then, I realized how much of a hypocrite I was.
The number one debate that has been blowing up on the Internet is the matter of human life and animal life. Many are arguing human life should never be compromised for animal life or vice versa. I believe the death of Harambe has spoken so much about the environmental ethics of our society. The concept of Anthropocentrism has been engrained in our psychology since the beginning of mankind. Anthropocentrism is the belief that human life is inherently more worthy than any other life. On the other hand, many believe in the opposite of these ideals and advocate the needs of the planet are more important than the needs of humans, also known as Biocentrism. Ecocentrism is the belief that all living organisms hold equal inherent value, and that no life is more important than another. Not only do I find it to be the most peaceful and spiritual form of ethics, but it might be exactly what our world needs right now.
As an advocate for the planet, you might think the uproar of Harambe's death is a great sign but it's actually a terrible sign that a majority of the human population has no valid stance on the integrity and preservation of our planet. When an endangered animal is killed due to an accident, society seems to jump up in anger and start pointing fingers at the parent, or the zoo, or anyone else that they believe to be responsible; (this also happened with Cecil, the lion). However, when the consumption of meat is higher than ever and tons of animals are being tortured before they are served as sirloin on our plate, everyone seems to conveniently ignore the tragedy there. Many people would find this kind of statement to be condescending and aggressive because it is not something comfortable to hear. More importantly, we have done so much to our planet it almost feels like a burden to right all of the wrongs. However, I will gladly put my neck out there to say that I myself am still struggling to practice such morals (as you can see in the beginning of this article) and due to the manifestation of human superiority in our world, I admit they are very hard to follow.
With that being said, you no longer need to think, "This b**** is trying to make me vegan". I'm not. Nor am I vegan. What I hope to do is to help everyone become more aware of their views and their actions. Unfortunately, we have failed in our responsibility towards the Earth. Is it our responsibility to save every animal's life? Not necessarily. Mother Nature herself has wiped out thousands of species since the birth of our planet -- but -- we do have one responsibility; and that is to conserve all living organisms and to conserve our planet.
"But we have zoo's. They are keeping endangered species such as Gorillas alive. Sure, we are breeding them to never survive in their natural habitat, but they are alive and they exist."
True, but that brings us to ask, "What does it really mean to conserve a species? What does it truly mean to conserve a life?" We might be able to sustain their species by keeping them in our zoos, but at what cost? We have compromised their natural origin, their wild nature, and the interdependence between them and their natural environment. In the end, we have stripped them of their role in our planet and we are sustaining them to merely exist. Our value in conservation is simply in the embodiment of these animals and not in their integrity and implicit worth.
We are throwing our arms in the air over Harambe and Cecil, yet we are consuming animals all the time. Not just in food - but in clothing, furniture, and even makeup. Many don't even know that endangered species are being hunted every day in Texas. The state of Texas holds the biggest ranch of exotic animals. The ranch consists of over 150 species, including endangered ones. People pay thousands of dollars to hunt antelopes, giraffes, or lions and ranchers claim that the money goes back into conserving the animals. A species of rare African antelopes are existing vibrantly in these Texas ranches because they are constantly being bred as they are being hunted.
With that being said, if we have to appeal to human incentives in order to keep a species alive, then we are not conserving anything. Conserving an animal does not only entail keeping them alive, but it ensures nothing aside from nature itself will harm them in any shape or form.
Many will ask; "But isn't it better these animals exist than to not have them exist at all?"
The answer is not simple, nor will its explanation be linear. I would love for all species to live on for the rest of eternity, but I don't want them to exist just so they will be hunted, dismembered, and then made into trophies. In Harambe's case, it was wonderful to know a beautiful, endangered animal was living amongst us but it is disheartening to know he lived to satisfy human entertainment.
The world is plagued with terrible tragedies and sadly, we are burdened with these moral dilemmas every day. All while millions of animals are being tortured and maltreated, many people are dying over genocides and starvation. It's a hard pill to swallow but our first attempt into bettering the world is to gain awareness. Looking passed the bold headlines and educating ourselves on the things we don't want to know is how we can make "a better world" a reality.
Know that Harambe is not the only endangered animal we have lost. Know that endangered animals are not more important than domestic animals and farm animals. Know that we are harming animals every day and we cannot pick and choose when we want to care. We need to stop arguing over whose life holds more value because it is a battle in which someone has to lose. No person or animal is entitled to more worth than any other living thing and once we start adapting to such ecocentric views, we can start to live in the world more peacefully.
