Pixabay License – Photo by Alain Audet

I often wonder how humans came to view wildlife as things to be controlled
through acts of violence. Over many years of becoming educated about global
animal protection issues, the staggering abuse of wildlife became all too
apparent.

In the United States, our government agencies often resort to violence when
dealing with a variety of wildlife issues. Anyone who has read my blog entries
over the last several years will see that I am very passionate about the need
for an entirely new perspective on wildlife.

Looking at the current trend of building densely packed suburbs full of
human conveniences, we have long forgotten the needs of wildlife. Where were
the plans for the needs of wildlife put, in any of these suburban designs?
These days if people see coyote or deer in their neighborhood, they act like
they don’t belong there. They forget – all their houses are built on what was
once the animal’s habitat.

This rampant deforestation is having devastating effects on wildlife, migratory
birds, water quality, air quality and human’s quality of life. Forests are
destroyed and land has been totally fragmented and paved over. Why can’t we
find a way to integrate more forest and greenspace among our human suburbs?

People act offended when deer come in their yard and eat their landscaping.
Why don’t people put themselves in the place of deer and find out what it is
like to have to navigate mansions where your habitat once was? Deer and other
wildlife are forced to cross busy roads and so often get brutally injured or
killed. Instead of viewing them as being in our way – please have compassion for the
injuries they suffer trying to find their way among human chaos.

Often I have attended local government meetings where homeowners complain
about deer and demand that more and more deer must be killed. I have
attended meetings in which the level of hysteria over deer was truly
frightening. So much ignorance and hatred has come over people regarding deer
populations. The first thing to remember is that wild animals roamed where your
houses are. They have had their habitat destroyed by human encroachment. How
were deer and other wild animals supposed to cross super highways? In a recent blog post I mentioned the incredible wildlife over passes that have been built to aide wildlife in areas where there are high mortalities. This is a major step in the right direction. 

Tonight is Thanksgiving, a time to honor the compassion and gratitude in
life. It is very important – to extend compassion to all those who are
vulnerable, be they human or animal. I came across a story on You Tube about a
woman who volunteered in Nigeria and came across a starving, abandoned baby.
Here is the link to the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X-TlYEBVOI.
I loved this story. It shows how one act of stepping forward and providing
compassionate assistance, can lead to magical transformations.

One of the reason’s that I am posting the link to this story is because it
seems that some of the callous attitudes in modern times, are due to people losing
touch with deeper compassion. Attitudes have become too materialistic and not
focused enough on seeing the bigger picture in life. 

Why not dedicate a place in your yard for wildlife to seek refuge? Observe their patterns and get to know them. That will lead to break throughs in your ability to see solutions to living with these animals instead of building black metal gates to keep them out. One of the most disturbing trends today is the use of bow hunters to kill deer in the suburbs. Impaling deer with arrows is a sadistic and brutal way to deal with their presence among us.

If you look at the struggles we have created for wildlife, and further look
at the horrific violence (sport hunting, managed hunts, poisons, traps etc.),
we as humans, are quite lucky to have all the conveniences of cars, Internet,
google maps, grocery stores etc. Before we sanction more violence and animosity towards
deer etc., step back and ask yourself what can you learn from the deer? I truly
believe that all this hatred of deer in the suburbs is reminding people how far
we have come from living in harmony with nature and valuing nature. The whole
paradigm of reactive violence to wildlife needs to shift into a more
compassionate and holistic perspective.

Both human and animal lives deserve compassion. I hope people will look at
the deeper picture that is facing humanity when it comes to environmental and
wildlife issues. We need to add more forests and wildlife habitat into our
development plans. This needs to happen now and become the norm. People need
the songs of birds, clean air and sparkling streams and so do all life forms.
Trying to control species through violence is not the answer. Like the story mentioned in the link above, great and inspiring change comes from seeing the deeper picture in life and administering compassion.