In response to increasing questions and pressure to eliminate forms of animal killing critical to wildlife management, Clemson scientists worked with a group of global experts to spell out the 10 reasons why humans kill animals, and why it is unavoidable.
1. Wild harvest or food acquisition
2. Human health and safety
3. Agriculture and aquaculture
4. Urbanisation and industrialisation
5. Wildlife control
6. Threatened species conservation
7. Recreation, sport or entertainment
8. Mercy or compassion
9. Cultural and religious practice
10. Research, education and testing
While for many people these reasons are common sense, for others they are not, and we hope our paper leads to a constructive dialogue that starts with accepting that human existence on Earth is dependent on animal killing. Once we as a society accept that we cannot stop animal killing entirely, we can hopefully focus on important nuances of animal welfare and sustainability.
Lead author Ben Allen has written an excellent profile of the article for The Conversation, and the full version of the article can be found here.
