The Christian Post on rhino poaching & species endangerment

The callous poaching of rhinoceroses in South Africa, where 3/4 of the world's rhinos live, has thankfully received mainstream attention in the news of late.  See for instance "Spike in Rhino Poaching Threatens Survival of Species" at MSNBC.com which points out that "South Africans brought the white rhino back from the brink of extinction" going into the 20th centuty, but "the recent spike in poaching has South Africans worried that all of their hard work to save the rhino will be reversed."  The Rock Center video report attached to the article also gives a glimpse of the very personal toll which the poaching is taking on those who work so diligently to protect the rhinos.

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of mice and men (and mercy)

Following up on Robert Burns' empathetic poem addressed to a field mouse, Lauren Merritt of The Christian and Creation writes movingly of an opportunity she had to show compassion to a drowning barn mouse earlier this Fall ...

There were three of us, early that humid September morning, sharing in the spectacle of life and death, animal survival and human dominion.  A chestnut Thoroughbred mare, a tiny, drowning gray mouse, and me.

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to a mouse

With winter upon us, it seemed an appropriate season to share "To a Mouse," an affecting and empathetic poem from Scottish poet and farmer Robert Burns which he wrote in 1785 "on turning her up in her nest with the plough":

Wee, sleekit (sly or cunning), cow'rin, tim'rous (full of fear) beastie,
Oh!  what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa' sae hasty
          Wi' bick'ring brattle (pattering noise)!
I wad be laith (loath) to rin (run) an' chase thee,
          Wi' murd'ring pattle (plough staff).

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does wildlife need our management?

One of our community members Jenny Sue Hane has been following the recent wolf hunting developments closely, and even organized an exemplary rally in opposition to them.  This is the first part of a thoughtful post she wrote for us on taking a genuinely Christian approach to wildlife management ...

Here in the US, where I live, state game agencies are in the business of managing wildlife.  This includes issuing a number of permits to hunters every year, even for creatures that are not typically eaten and bear many similarities to domestic companion animals.  Some of the arguments for the hunting of non-food animals focus on their supposed conflicts with people and their livestock, which may be greatly overstated.  But once those are out of the way, there is another argument that the trophy hunters fall back on: the “animals need to be managed” argument. 

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19th century British Evangelicals on cruelty to animals

Following our two historic and extraordinary examples of early 19th century British Evangelicals speaking out in a strong way against cruelty toward God's creatures.  First is the passionate poem "On Cruelty to Brute Animals," from a Friendly Hints poetry section of The Evangelical Magazine, 1806:

A MAN of kindness to his beast be kind;
But brutal actions shew a brutal mind.
Remember, he who made thee made the brute;
Who gave thee speech and reason, form'd him mute:
He can't complain; but God's omniscient eye
Beholds thy cruelty,—he hears his cry.
He was design'd thy servant and thy drudge;
But know,—that his Creator is thy Judge!

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Christian reflections on Ohio tragedy

By now there's a good chance you've heard some news of the awful events which took place in Central Ohio early last week.  Terry Thompson, previously convicted of animal cruelty and other criminal charges, set 50-plus animals free from his private exotic animal collection at Muskingum County Animal Farm in Zanesville, including lions, leopards, bears, wolves, primates and 18 endangered Bengal tigers.  Thompson then tragically took his own life, and 49 of the free-roaming animals were killed by local police, naturally untrained to deal with such a crisis involving so many foreign and dangerous animals.

You can get a good overview of Thompson's history with animals and Ohio's lax legislation with respect to exotic animal possession, and failure to require Thompson to relinquish his collection, in a CNN.com article and accompanying video "Friend: Animal farm owner under stress" (from which the following screenshot is taken).

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road runners, the deadly fall ritual

Our previous post "Giving Wildlife a Brake" drew attention to the increase in animals which are hit by vehicles in the Fall, and gave some advice on how to help prevent these sad accidents.  Susan Hagood, a wildlife issues specialist for the Humane Society of the United States who was quoted in the post, has an article on the same subject which is as well-written as it is additionally helpful.  She graciously gave us permission to share it here, "Road Runners: The Deadly Fall Ritual of Animals Crossing Roads":

Their movements are as fleet as any running back in the National Football League.  They sprint at blinding speeds, make sharp 90-degree cuts, stop on a dime, reverse field, and innately understand how to avoid large, intimidating opponents.

And like NFL running backs, they often get caught.  The price for squirrels, however, is considerably higher than for, say, Ricky Williams.  Squirrels usually pay with their lives when met head-on by vehicles on busy streets, particularly during the fall season.

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hearts on our sleeves for starlings

Brave Saint Saturn is a modern rock group with a solid Christian foundation and message, headed up by former Five Iron Frenzy frontman Reese Roper.  The song "Starling" from their most recent album Anti-Meridian is about two memorable encounters which Reese had as a child with neighborhood birds near death, the second of which he shot with an air gun, and quickly comes to regret doing so:

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the birdslayer

Dean Ohlman of RBC Ministries and The Wonder of Creation shares a poignant reflection on 'wanton' hunting as a child, and coming to respect the lives of wild creatures as an adult and grandfather ...

The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.  We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (Romans 8:19-22, NIV)

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hunting and animal welfare

A while back, Rusty Pritchard of the creation care group Flourish sent me a few questions on hunting and fishing for a writing project he was working on.  Since the Fall hunting season is underway, and we're going to share some posts on the topic, I asked if I could develop our Q&A to help introduce a subject which Christian sportsmen and animal advocates often disagree on.  Rusty graciously agreed ...

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