Orangutans and Personhood

IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 28 February 2013

Meijaard E. et al. 2012. Not by Science Alone: why orangutan conservationists must think outside the box. Year in Ecology and Conservation Biology. Vol. 1249: 29-44.

http://apps.webofknowledge.com.ezproxy.tru.ca/full_record.do?product=UA&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=2&SID=2EhJ5@5Jkpl@j@Pd5dJ&page=2&doc=11

Online Etymology Dictionary. Orangutan. Retrieved Feb. 28, 2013.

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=orangutan

Shawn Thompson. Guest lecture appearance. 2013. The intimate ape: Orangutans and the Secret Life of a Vanishing Species. PHIL 4350: environmental ethics.

Van Casteren A. et al. 2012. Nest-building orangutans demonstrate engineering know-how to produce safe, comfortable beds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States or America. Vol.109. Iss. 18 :6873-6877.

http://www.swetswise.com.ezproxy.tru.ca/FullTextProxy/swproxy?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pnas.org%2Fcgi%2Freprint%2F109%2F18%2F6873.pdf&ts=1362079415718&cs=2947130439&userName=5786541.ipdirect&emCondId=5786541&articleID=165541516&yevoID=3515552&titleID=165916&referer=4&remoteAddr=192.146.156.172&hostType=PRO&swsSessionId=ZbFV45LW0Ee6+fMaM-8iBA__.pasc2

Of the two species of orangutans, Sumatran orangutans are listed as critically endangered, Bornean orangutans are endangered, and both have decreasing population trends as listed by the IUCN (international union for the conservation of nature). This is due to a number of factors including illegal hunting, pet trade, and tragic forest habitat loss (Meirjaad 2012).

Orangutans are one the most intelligent animals besides humans and have highly sophisticated thinking. One study reported on the way they build nests in the trees to sleep in. They seem to have learned the properties of wood and use that knowledge in their nest building. They use stronger branches as a frame and lighter more leafy ones as a sort of mattress. Their technique involves weaving, intelligent use of half broken branches, and an understanding of mechanical design and architecture (Casteren 2012).         

The word orangutan comes from “man of the woods” in Malay language. This is fitting because of the many traits they have in common with human beings. This was Shawn Thompson’s point he was making in his guest lecture appearance in PHIL 4350: conservation ethics. According to Shawn every wall that has been erected to demarcate humans from orangutans has been shown to be false. However, historical thinking was that humans are the most superior life form for a variety of ungrounded reasons be it religious reasons, moral reasons, or some trait like communication, or use of rational thinking etc. (Thompson S. 2013). In any case humans were the only things granted personhood in the eyes of the law. Since then, corporations have been granted personhood which has allowed them a number of legal rights. This idea of non-human personhood could have major implications for conservation. There is currently a movement to grant great apes legal personhood which would grant them legal rights of their own. This would make conservation efforts much easier because it would be law to respect their rights.

If it is possible to grant the great apes personhood, and corporations have already become legal persons, why should it stop there? This is a question generated from some philosophical thinking in biocentrism, which wishes to extend inherent value to non-human animals. Arguments could be made for inherent value of all living things in varying degrees, and if this could extend into legal concern regarding personhood, then conservation could have a strangle grip on government protection of endangered species. Furthermore, though maybe a bit early, this kind of biocentric thinking where humans are only a part of the natural world could influence legal concerns regarding the inherent value of the non-living environment. These kinds of changes in thinking and legal concern would be much more efficient because laws would be forced to respect animals and the environment for their own sake as opposed to protecting them indirectly because of what they mean to humans.            

Words 474.

Goats eat Weeds

Citations

Booth, A.L. and Skelton, N.W. 2009. The Use of Domestic Goats and Vinegar as Municipal Weed Control Alternatives. Environmental Practice. Vol. 11. Issue 1: (pp 3 - 16)

http://journals.cambridge.org.ezproxy.tru.ca/action/displayFulltext?type=1&fid=5398328&jid=ENP&volumeId=11&issueId=01&aid=5398320&bodyId=&membershipNumber=&societyETOCSession=   

         

Garcia R.R. et al. 2012. Goat Grazing, its interactions with other herbivores and biodiversity conservation issues. Small Ruminant Research. Vol. 107. Issue 2-3: (pp 49 - 64)

http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.tru.ca/science/article/pii/S092144881200123X

Kenna Cartwright Park. City of Kamloops website. (retrieved Feb. 6, 2013) From:

http://www.city.kamloops.bc.ca/parks/kenna.shtml

Lamming Lani. 2001. Alternative Weed Strategies: Successfully Controlling Noxious Weeds with Goats. Pesticides and You. Vol. 21, No. 4: (pp 19 - 23)

http://www.beyondpesticides.org/infoservices/pesticidesandyou/Winter%2001-02/Successfully%20Controlling%20Noxious%20Weeds%20with%20Goats.pdf

*email conversations with Jo-Ann Fox and Cara Lamont of the SIWMC (Southern Interior Weed    Management Committee)

  

Image from National Post: http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/07/16/in-b-c-park-its-goats-1-weeds-0/

Kenna Cartwright Park is technically labelled a ‘Nature Park’ which encompasses the intention of conservation as well as ensuring an area for human enjoyment. It contains 800 Ha of Mt Dufferen which makes it the largest municipal park in BC. In an attempt to handle some of the noxious invasive weed species which have become a problem in our local grasslands, the city brought a herd of 440 goats to Kenna in order to keep them in check. The goats are known as what is called top down grazers, meaning they eat from the top of the plant down. The goats eating habit causes them to eat the invasive weeds first and the native grass last. They were also intensively herded in Kenna to graze in areas with the most Dalmatian Toadflax. Attention has been concentrated on controlling Dalmatian Toadflax in Kenna, but the goats also eat other invasive weed species which are a problem in Kamloops including knapweeds, purple loostrife, and kochia. During their time here in Kamloops the goats have been a success.

Other reasons that goats work well as a weed control method is because they do not allow passage of viable seeds through their digestive tract, and they do not harm water supply with their waste. Furthermore they are cost effective, allowing for an affordable option for weed control and thereby native grassland conservation. Goats have been used for well over 100 years in the states as a weed control method. Also the positive media attention that these kind of projects attract raise awareness about invasive species problems and help give conservation projects a good name.   

       

In 2005 goats were used as a weed control method for Canada thistle in municipal areas in Prince George. One research study by Annie Booth and Norman Skelton out of the University of Northern British Columbia showed significant positive results over a two year period. The method involved quantitative analysis of weed populations in selected 1m by 1m quadrats before and after grazing by goats. It was a relatively small scale experiment compared to the project in Kamloops. It involved two sites both less than two hectares with ten goats total. Due to miscommunication with city workers, one of their test sites was partially mowed. This accident lead to the finding however that goats were more effective at preventing growth of thistle in the mowed areas than they were at eliminating mature thistle due to the unpalatable, poky nature of the plant. This suggests that the combination of mowing and use of goat grazing may be a viable method for weed control. Overall the study showed positive results for controlling Canada thistle as well as other weeds including Hawkweeds, horsetails, and dandelions.  

In some parts of the world where goats are more numerous they are considered a nuisance which can reduce biodiversity and damage natural ecosystems. But if they are controlled like in the Prince George study and the Kenna project, they can be an effective weed management tool.

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