We have all heard about the oil spill in the Gulf. And yes, it’s going to take decades to clean-up. But what do we do about the animals? Endangered species such as sea turtles are getting killed because of this and they are not alone. The real question is whether to try and save the animals that are still alive, or put them out of their misery.
I just read an article on this matter on MSNBC. The article shows the arguments between a biologist in Germany and biologists in the U.S. who are trying to take care of the animals. They have been discussing the birds in Gulf who are covered in oil and may have oil in their systems.
The biologist in Germany says that there is a 10 percent chance that the birds will live and we should just put the birds out of their misery. But here in the U.S., we think differently. "Biologists on the scene who are actually involved in the clean-up tell a slightly different story: Sure, sometimes it makes sense to euthanize birds that aren’t going to make it, or leave them to die in their natural habitat. But ethically speaking, they feel a duty to try saving the birds if there’s a chance they can be saved," reports MSNBC.
"Today's numbers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other groups involved in the cleanup show that 413 oiled birds have been collected alive, and 594 dead birds have been picked up. Of all those birds, only 39 have been released back into the wild," MSNBC states. "Other studies indicate that the survival rate for cleaned-up birds can be quite high, from 78 to 100 percent, as noted on the "Living the Scientific Life" blog. And as bad as those oily pelicans may look in the pictures from Louisiana, Russell said it's often the oiliest birds that have the highest survival rate. That's because they tend to be picked up earlier, before dehydration, hypothermia and other ills have set in."
Based on this info from the article on the site above, what's your opinion? Should we let the birds and other animals be euthanized and put them out of their misery? Or, should we try and save the birds and other animals?
I share Alaska marine biologist Rick Steiner’s thoughts on this, "...we caused their pain and suffering, so we owe it to them to do everything we possibly can to give them a fighting chance of survival.”
