I'm okay with killing half a million big fish to end this pandemic.
This pretty much sums up humanity's stupidity and ignorance given the origin of this pandemic.
Could you elaborate? In what way? How would you proceed?
A Coronavirus Vaccine Could Kill Half a Million Sharks, Conservationists Warn
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Re: A Coronavirus Vaccine Could Kill Half a Million Sharks, Conservationists Warn
#32It’s more upsetting to know that over 2.7 million are killed for cosmetics. Humans truly know how to dispense misery on mass scale.
But we only hear about it when less than 1/5 of that amount _might_ be sacrificed for human health. Stinks of agenda.
Also, without context, is 500,000 a lot of sharks? How many exist in the wild? How many are needed to have a stable population? If we don't cull millions of sharks annually, what effect would that have?
And what is "shark" in this context, anyway? There are dozens of fish species, at differing levels of endangerment, colloquially referred to as "sharks".
Re: A Coronavirus Vaccine Could Kill Half a Million Sharks, Conservationists Warn
#33The squalene in question that's derived from sharks has been used for decades. I've never heard of it before. Only now I do when it could be used to save untold human lives. Really?
And the fine article even mentions that over 5 times the quantity of sharks are killed for the cosmetic industry.
Re: A Coronavirus Vaccine Could Kill Half a Million Sharks, Conservationists Warn
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
This pretty much sums up humanity's stupidity and ignorance given the origin of this pandemic.
Could you elaborate? In what way? How would you proceed?
Well, my understanding is that the virus jumped from some species, which was sold under absolutely miserable conditions in a wet market in Wuhan, to humans. I find it almost comical that someone would be completely fine with more animal exploitation given that this was the reason humans were infected in the first place.
Re: A Coronavirus Vaccine Could Kill Half a Million Sharks, Conservationists Warn
#35It’s more upsetting to know that over 2.7 million are killed for cosmetics. Humans truly know how to dispense misery on mass scale.
Are these endangered sharks or a common species?
Re: A Coronavirus Vaccine Could Kill Half a Million Sharks, Conservationists Warn
#36Just think of the long term co2 savings we could make by not stopping the virus.
"Let's save the Earth by letting loads of people die"?
Let’s be a bit more pragmatic about it: what are the typical characteristics of the “loads of people” that would be dying? Here’s a hint: it’s not the young and healthy.
Re: A Coronavirus Vaccine Could Kill Half a Million Sharks, Conservationists Warn
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Human predation doesn't apply the same positive evolutionary pressures as apex predators. Typically predators eat the slowest, weakest, dumbest prey. Humans either target the biggest, strongest prey (if hunting individuals) or indiscriminately massacre a swathe of the ecosystem (eg. dragnet fishing).
What is a "positive evolutionary pressure"? Why are fast, smart, strong fish important?
I'd imagine smart fish survive better in general; we're changing the environment, and brains can adapt faster than evolution.
Fast, strong fish are better sources of muscle, which is what we hunt them for.
Re: A Coronavirus Vaccine Could Kill Half a Million Sharks, Conservationists Warn
#38Just think of the long term co2 savings we could make by not stopping the virus.
"Let's save the Earth by letting loads of people die"?
A scarier thought is that it has been hard to convince people to wear masks to save themselves, so what hope do we have of getting them to save the planet or even just some species that share it with us? (read a tweet to this effect, but didn't keep a ref)
Re: A Coronavirus Vaccine Could Kill Half a Million Sharks, Conservationists Warn
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's a widely publicized example where wolves were reintroduced in a national reserve (Yellowstone National Park). The ecological effects were dramatic. Here's a quick video on it (jump to 2:35 for an even quicker viewing): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc52l5ZcAJ0
That was restoring not replacing.
But the OP was asking about sharks as a predator which are clearly being restored.
Re: A Coronavirus Vaccine Could Kill Half a Million Sharks, Conservationists Warn
#40Just think of the long term co2 savings we could make by not stopping the virus.
How is my tinnitus and now vertigo helping save CO2?
Covid has massive painful ramifications throughout the world population and economy.
Surely we can do better than a plague to save the Earth.
This will most likely be over in a year or two after massive vaccinations and synthetic antibodies, but the economic impact will linger for a loot longer.
And guess what will happen when this is over and the world wakes up in a major economic crisis -- that's right, the world won't give a damn about the environment, it will all be about efforts to restart the world economy and cleanup the fallout.