I have seen the fallout of animal rights fanaticism in the course of doing conservation in Africa. The short version: they are concerned only with the individual animal and being nice to it. They have no concept of or interest in populations, species, ecosystems, or landscapes; they care only that no white guy with a gun is ever mean to an animal. They say nothing as the last remnants of African wildlife are being snared and poisoned to near extinction – nice people wouldn’t dream of noticing when indigenous people destroy wildlife indiscriminately or overgrazing turns vast ecosystems into rock desert. They are clueless about the reality of wild animals’ lives and got their education in wildlife biology from watching Bambi; wild animals should have the same life as their dear little Fluffy.
And if you dare say anything about hunting as a conservation tool, something obvious to virtually everyone who does conservation in Africa, they do their best to destroy you. Sadly, wealthy American and British animal rights groups have controlled wildlife policy in Kenya for decades, standing quietly by during an 80% collapse in wildlife numbers since the 1977 hunting ban. They are gaining influence in other countries.
For a very readable account, see Glen Martin’s Game Changer: Animal Rights and the Future of Africa’s Wildlife.
