Helping Animals Means Helping People: From Hunting and Poaching to Climate Change and Nuclear War

There are many ways that people are harmed by mankind's treatment of and disregard for wildlife, including human suffering and death. Accidents and fatalities can occur from hunting-related activities, while at the same time species are in danger of extinction due to both legal and illegal hunting (poaching) and to the illegal wildlife trade, including the demand for body parts largely focused in Asian countries. The wildlife trade also partially funds terrorist and criminal groups and often fuels corruption. Animals share the dangers of infectious diseases with humans and suffer the consequences of climate change along with us: heat waves, wildfires, and extreme weather. Wildlife (both vertebrates and invertebrates) also benefit mankind by helping to provide a healthy planet in spite of humans' thoughtless efforts to damage it and in spite of what amounts to a "war on wildlife." When people do what they can to help and protect wildlife, we humans almost invariably benefit as much as or more than the animals we help.