Favoring Man’s Needs While Caring For Animals & Nature
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘<On the 4th day> …God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.’ (Genesis 1:21); ‘<On the 5th day> God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.’ (Genesis 1:24);
‘(27) <Also on the 5th day> …God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (28) God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”’ (Genesis 1:27-28); ‘The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.’ (Proverbs 12:10); ‘<Jesus said,>”Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”’ (Matthew 6:26)
As we witness the aftermath of the Los Angeles fires and subsequent mudslides due to the rains falling after the fires pretty much burnt off all the ground cover, the lack of water resources partially stemmed from a decision to protect a small fish, the smelt. The smelt is not an endangered species as it is found elsewhere in the United States and in some places is considered an aquatic delicacy. I don’t know personally whether I have ever ate a smelt, but then again I don’t normally know what fish I’m eating in a restaurant or when I’m eating fish-sticks at home. (I find it sometimes better to wallow in ignorance when it comes to eating certain foods, like fish.)
In the case of the LA fires, the disaster in part was caused by placing an emphasis on protecting a subspecies of the smelt found only in California. While noble at first glance, this protection led to the postponement of several reservoir and water retention projects in California, and stoppage of sending water from northern California to southern California. Thus, when the fires began to threaten the northern LA neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Altadena, The Santa Ynez reservoir, with 17-million-gallons of water holding capacity was empty. Smaller reservoirs were quickly drained in the early stages of the fire-fighting efforts, and there was no water left to battle the blazes.
Ten of thousands of homes were burnt into ashes, and while the loss of life was not as high as it could have been, there is now a housing and shelter shortage in the greater Los Angeles area, and rental properties have all been taken and hotel rooms are now booked full by those displaced. While it is expected for some government safety and building mandates may be waived to expedite rebuilding, the recovery may take several years as there are not enough manpower and resources to quickly rebuild and restore all at once the homes lost.
Had the emphasis been properly on the protection and well-being of the people and property over the smelt, the destruction would likely have been prevented or at least mitigated to a smaller number of homes damaged in the fires. There could have even been a mutual benefit had the Santa Ynez reservoir was filled; the smelt could have been introduced there while the water would have been available to put out the fires.
A sizable Word-of-the-Day medley of verses, but I want to emphasize that 1) God took the time (1.5 of His Creation days) to create all living creatures, including the wildlife, birds, fish, livestock, insects, etc., 2) God created us, in His own image, so we could have dominion over all said creatures, 3) that we are to be benevolent rulers over such creatures, and 4) humans and human life are more valuable than animal life.
There are factions, both around the world and in the US, that to varying degrees, place animal life paramount to human life. Due to this, in many cases, human development is put on hold because of the effects on animals. Now this isn’t always a negative; President Theodore Roosevelt thought highly of preserving areas of wilderness to preserve not only the natural beauty of such locations but the wildlife in these locations as well, and thus we have the US National Parks System. This has caught on worldwide, so many areas in all 6 inhabited continents have been set aside to preserve nature and wildlife (with Antarctica being almost all untouched, of course due to being cold there almost no one wants to go there, either).
However, there are occasions when hinderance to the safety or the advancement of people is stopped by those who want to ‘preserve’ a nest or a burrow, even if it is on unnatural platforms. If you drive down I-75, there are many osprey nests on the light poles at the Weigh Station just north of Exit 158 (Tuckers Grade Road); there are some locations in North Port where a dead tree, next to homes, have a nest on high as well. Instead of allowing maintenance folks to remove the nests and work on the lights, or the removal of the dead tree in the neighborhood, the nests must remain.
When the light pole or tree come crashing down, onto a truck or a house, when it could easily have been prevented, puts animal life over human life. It is better to allow proper repair and service to occur instead of a concern over the birds’ welfare, especially since the birds are likely to find another nesting area if ‘shooed’ away before the nest comes crashing down.
There is a balance in our affairs with animals, however. While there is a time and a place to deal with animals in a possible lethal way – for food or for safety – it cannot be just for the sake of cruelty. The American Bison was almost killed to extinction due to hunters simply shooting them for sport and not for food or hides. On the other hand, deer populations in the Northern US have become overpopulated with many deer overextending resources, and dying of starvation or being hit with automobiles, all because of anti-hunting sentiments and regulations.
We must be cognizant of the responsibility that the Lord has given us, but we also cannot ignore that we do require animals for food, and we also need to cull those animals that may be sick or overtly dangerous, or overextending into human habitat. The balance must also be kept for indigenous animals; there are now plagues of exotic snakes and iguanas in South and Central Florida, aggressive monkeys in the Silver Springs area north of Florida, and hungry boar destroying farmland in the center of the state. It is not mean to eliminate these threats to the natural balance of the indigenous animals lest they be run down and out by these more aggressive animals attempting to take over.
The other item is pet owners; there are many who love their animals and keep very good care of them. Some though, only want the pet for a little while, but once they tire of the responsibility the pet is discarded, dumped or killed. If you have a pet, love it – keep it and nurture it. If you find it is too much, seek first someone who may be able to take it from you, or contact the Humane Society to set up an adoption. This way, an animal is not euthanized or dumped to fend for itself for not being wanted. As with everything God has provided, there is balance; balance between our ‘overlord’ of animals and our need to be caring of them, while ensuring we take care to treat them humanely as part of God’s Creation.
