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Townhall...
How Entrepreneurship
Benefits Animals
By Katie Kieffer
6/20/2011
I’m going out on a limb with the koalas to say that entrepreneurs are
better caretakers of animals and endangered species than politicians
who call themselves environmentalists.
Last month, the journal Nature published a study showing that
mathematical models for determining species extinction are unreliable
and may be leading us to overestimate extinction probabilities by up to
160 percent. The study’s authors encourage the scientific community to
not become complacent, but, rather, adopt better mathematical models
for forecasting extinction rates.
Despite this research, environmentalists are pushing forward radical
measures that could hurt animals and humans in one fell sweep.
Contrastingly, entrepreneurs are advancing proposals that could
preserve animals while creating jobs for humans.
Let’s walk through three different scenarios and you can decide who is
doing a better job of protecting your furry and scaly friends:
Camels
Politicians in Australia are targeting these humped, Fergalicious
creatures because they fart too much. Yes, you read that right, the
Ausi government is scrambling to meet its Kyoto Treaty quotas and is
looking for ways to eliminate sources of green-house gases.
According to The Washington Times, four camels produce as much annual
methane as a Toyota Prius and Australian elites have decided to throw
animals under the bus in order to fend off climate change. Proposed
legislation would allow companies to earn carbon credits through
initiatives like setting fires to brush (camel habitat) and “animal
emissions avoidance projects such as camel reduction.”
Wanton destruction of nature to rack up carbon credits on a sheet of
paper is wrong. When a set of animals—like camels—grows out of control
or becomes a nuisance, entrepreneurs “respect” the animals by finding
ways to feed and employ humans.
Entrepreneurs point out that camels have historically helped support
and nourish poorer regions of the world. Camel milk is a popular,
high-protein, low-fat and nutrient-rich beverage. Increasingly,
Europeans and Americans are clamoring for access to this healthy
alternative to cow’s milk. Ancient Greeks nourished themselves on lean
camel meat and it is a staple in middle-eastern and African diets today.
Rather than meaninglessly shooting farting camels, Ausi entrepreneur
Paddy McHugh is pushing the government to consider another option that
will respect and save camels while employing Australians. He told
Arabian Business: “We want to turn it around from a negative and
produce an industry for Australia to export meat and milk to the UAE,
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait. It’s got huge potential. …The
Aboriginal people in Australia are quite destitute, and we believe it’s
a great industry to embrace and harvest these feral animals.”
Vicuñas
Once part of an international embargo and listed as endangered, this
Bambi-like animal is slowly but surely recovering under the watchful
eye of Italian fashion mogul Loro Piana, reports Time Magazine. Piana
runs a 4,900-acre preservation site where vicuñas roam free and
conservationists study their habits.
Piana and other entrepreneurs are slowly growing this fragile
population and also weaving its rare fur into ultra-warm and super-soft
clothing. The vicuña is only sheered once every two years and
ultimately benefits from this manufacturing process. Time says that
under Piana’s lead, the vicuña population in the Peruvian Andes has
soared to 200,000.
The vicuña success story shows us how entrepreneurs like Piana find
ways to grow animal populations out of endangerment while producing
sought-after products and creating jobs.
Lizards and Prairie Chickens
Environmentalists are pressuring the Fish and Wildlife Service to rush
the 3-in. dunes sagebrush lizard and the lesser prairie chicken
inhabiting southeastern New Mexico and west Texas onto the endangered
species list.
Environmentalists claim that the oil industry in west Texas is
destroying these critters despite that there is no definitive
scientific data showing that oil production harms the lizards and
prairie chickens. Caribou herds, for instance, have been found to grow
and thrive alongside oil production in Alaska’s North Slope.
Prematurely protecting the dunes sagebrush lizard and the lesser
prairie chicken would immediately threaten the jobs of 75 percent of
west Texans who rely on the oil industry for their survival, reports
Fox News. The Fish & Wildlife Service will make its determination
by December.
The Board of Regents of the University of Texas System and Sen. John
Cornyn (R-TX) are putting forward entrepreneurial proposals to set
aside nearly 75,000 acres managed by the University of Texas for their
habitat and to further study these creatures rather than impulsively
sabotaging the American oil industry.
Bottom line, there is a market for camel products, vicuna hair and
petroleum. Entrepreneurs find ways to satisfy market demands and create
jobs while respecting, studying and benefiting the animals that produce
these products or inhabit the areas where they are manufactured. In
comparison, radical environmentalists often seek ways to advance their
anti-business agendas – regardless of whether animals die meaninglessly
or humans go hungry and jobless.
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