Cull of the Wild
Killing in the Name of Conservation – WINNER OF THE ZSL CLARIVATE AWARD FOR COMMUNICATING ZOOLOGY
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
WINNER OF THE ZSL CLARIVATE AWARD FOR COMMUNICATING ZOOLOGY.
LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR WRITING ON CONSERVATION.
'Honest and intelligent.' CHRIS PACKHAM
'Expertly researched, engaging and even-handed.' BBC WILDLIFE
'Fascinating and indispensable.' GEORGE MONBIOT
'Every nature lover should read it.' AMY-JANE BEER
Investigating the ethical and practical challenges of one of the greatest threats to biodiversity: invasive species.
Globally, the threat to biodiversity of invasive species is on a par with habitat loss, climate change and pollution. Tackling this isn't easy, and nobody knows that better than Hugh Warwick. As a conservationist, he loathes the idea of killing, harming or even eating animals. As an ecologist, he is acutely aware of the need, at times, to kill invasive species whose presence harms the wider environment.
How do we protect endangered native species? Which species do we prioritise? And how do we reckon with killing anything in the name of conservation? Taking a balanced approach to this emotive subject, Hugh talks to experts on all sides as he explores the impact of species control.
In his signature humorous style, he outlines the issues conservationists face in managing non-native animals and protecting native species, including grey and red squirrels on Anglesey, ravens and tortoises in the Mojave Desert, and unique cases like Pablo Escobar's cocaine hippos and the Burmese python pet trade.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this nuanced report, ecologist Warwick (Linescapes) probes the thorny moral quandaries surrounding attempts to contain animal populations through slaughter. Highlighting the humans and animals at the center of culling debates, Warwick explains that gray squirrels in Britain carry a virus that's fatal to red squirrels and discusses environmentalist Craig Shuttlesworth's controversial efforts to save the declining red population by catching and killing gray squirrels. Though invasive species are usually targeted for population control, native species can also come under fire, Warwick writes, pointing out that English gamekeepers kill foxes to protect pheasants and that cane toads were introduced to Australia to deplete the indigenous cane beetle population, only for the voracious toads to themselves become an ecological nuisance. The plentiful case studies reveal the complex, unintuitive calculations that must be considered in conservation efforts, as when Warwick notes that killing invasive dingoes in Australia resulted in higher rates of endemic small mammal deaths because the canines had been keeping down the number of non-native cats. Warwick's searching meditation on the ethical uncertainties surrounding culling offers no easy answers, though he ultimately acknowledges that some killing in the name of the greater good may be necessary to undo harms caused by humans, even if he feels uneasy about it. This brings clarity and insight to a fraught subject.
