ANIMAL welfare is not always the same as wildlife conservation, with the two having different, sometimes conflicting, goals ("All options needed for managing wildlife"; April 11).
Animal welfare is the concern for the well-being of all animals, wild or not, while wildlife conservation is the concern for the continuance of wild animals in their natural environment.
In a managed environment with limited forest resources and non-native animals, culling may be inevitable. Culling may be cruel to the individual, but not culling could be cruel to more animals if insufficient food causes them to slowly starve, or if native animals are affected by non-native animals.
Culling is cruel, though, if done for the sake of a few complaints.
However, all of this does not really matter. Why is culling necessary in the first place? Because of human development.
Clearing of forest areas for development forces wildlife out into urban areas. We need more careful planning of our development into natural forested areas, and education for the public about our need to co-exist with our wildlife. Then, we can avoid human-wildlife conflict, which is what pushes government agencies to cull animals in the first place.
Natalia Huang Yih Ling (Miss)
Animal welfare is the concern for the well-being of all animals, wild or not, while wildlife conservation is the concern for the continuance of wild animals in their natural environment.
In a managed environment with limited forest resources and non-native animals, culling may be inevitable. Culling may be cruel to the individual, but not culling could be cruel to more animals if insufficient food causes them to slowly starve, or if native animals are affected by non-native animals.
Culling is cruel, though, if done for the sake of a few complaints.
However, all of this does not really matter. Why is culling necessary in the first place? Because of human development.
Clearing of forest areas for development forces wildlife out into urban areas. We need more careful planning of our development into natural forested areas, and education for the public about our need to co-exist with our wildlife. Then, we can avoid human-wildlife conflict, which is what pushes government agencies to cull animals in the first place.
Natalia Huang Yih Ling (Miss)
