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Why Killing Hundreds of Thousands of Barred Owls Is The Wrong Move
A concerning plan that raises a lot of troubling questions
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is finalizing a controversial plan to kill up to 500,000 barred owls in the Pacific Northwest. The plan would allow hunters to bag a certain number of owls each year with the goal of culling tens of thousands of owls per season for a number of years. The goal of the plan is to bolster the population of the ailing spotted owl, which officials say is being crowded out by invasive barred owls.
The plan has unsettled many who claim that the number of owls being killed is excessive.
The plan also raises a number of interesting questions. Is it the place of humans to meddle in nature to such an extent? What else will the government authorize to kill in such large quantities? What is the point of teaching evolution if people are adamantly against it?
Children are taught from a young age that life on Earth arose through evolution. Survival of the fittest. Some species rise, adapt, and outcompete their rivals. The species that are able to adapt pass on their knowledge and their DNA to the next generation, slowly transforming the creatures over time in the slow march of evolution. That is the backbone of the theory of evolution. Yet…
