Animals are NOT more important than humans

We recently watched a documentary about the Maasai people, as Jack mentioned in one of his blog posts.

Aside from being displaced from their homes, the Maasai people also face many changes caused by tourism.

For example, there are special safaris set aside for tourists to hunt animals for game. However, the animal is typically stuffed and is wasted as a good source. Many locals, meanwhile, depend on these animals for meat, yet are not allowed to hunt these animals even though their communities NEED the meat. (The Maasai, however, do not depend on these animals for meat except in times of extreme famine, as they raise their own livestock).

The Maasai used to have a mutually beneficial relationship with the environment, but were evicted by British colonialists in the name of protecting the environment. Sound familiar? That's because Native Americans used to live in areas of what we now know as national parks--areas we think of as nature untouched by man. There is a common misconception that humans and animals cannot coexist, but it is a myth. However, this misconception has caused a tremendous amount of damage over the years. Native people (who have lived on the land for hundreds of thousands of years) are seen as undesirable and evicted from areas, so as to make for better photo opportunities of animals for tourists. It's unfortunate that there is far more concern shown for animals than people.

It's also important to note that places like safaris are almost never run by natives, who don't get any money most of the time. Their water supply is also drained out so that tourists can use it. Even when safaris include Maasai people in them, they are typically exploited and meant to be entertainment for tourists. Children even drop out of school to pose for photographs.

Even though I provided some links in my last post, here is a list of some more responsible tourism agencies and lodges in Africa that help the community:

Governor's Camp Collection
Manda Wilderness
Anvil Bay
Ilha de Mocaambique
Covane Community Lodge

I want to bring the focus of the post back to its title. I have seen a lot of cynical attitudes towards humans in regards to environmentalism lately. If you read nearly any article about pollution or poaching and scroll down, you'll find comments complaining about how terrible human beings are, that they deserve to be wiped out, etc.

These are very, very, dangerous ideas to have. Animals are NOT more important than humans.

As a Chinese person, this has always been important to me, since I've had to grow up reading racist comments anytime I try to do research about rhino horns or elephant tusks. I've had to endure people seriously suggesting that we bomb China's capital city--home to 11 million people--in the name of "saving rhinos".

Placing an emphasis on animals over humans is not only harmful, but also counterproductive. Aside from the harm done from displacing locals people, even the least invasive of safaris (where people only view animals) place a lot of stress on wild animals. The unbalanced focus on popular animals such as elephants, leopards, and giraffes results in little concern for less-photogenic animals and more importantly, the entire entire ecosystem as a whole. The romanticism of animals being pure ends up with us projecting emotions and thoughts onto them, which is what leads to them being captured and put in places like aquariums and zoos.

What we should aim for instead is treating humans and animals are two groups that both deserve an equal amount of respect, and finding a balance between humans and animals, and creating a sym-biotic relationship where both parties can thrive off of each other.