World Animal Day
Of the world’s land biomass, 36% is made up by humans and 60% by our livestock. That leaves only 4% for wildlife. This is a shocking proportion and indication of how we have phased wildlife out of space.
But, as we look at some of the world’s remaining pristine places, those populated by animals, we see that as the benchmark, the ideal, and fight for the integrity of that space. We may be overlooking the perfectly good open parts of the map without any animals in it as potential.
Last week I spoke of the Project ReWild Zambezi we are undertaking, one of repopulating an area in Zimbabwe at scale. The latest media on our rewilding project is a piece by the Daily Mail in the UK.
But the extension of our larger plans at Great Plains is to use this project as a pilot to repopulate those blank spaces on the map, rewilding some more of the nearly 80% of Africa that is devoid of people and animals.
As Jeff Flocken, President of Humane Society International, says, “With climate change simultaneously driving biodiversity loss and animal welfare crises around the planet, we will need creative rewilding efforts like this more than ever. It is a tool that, when done right and with the involvement of local communities and governments, can save countless animals from suffering and death as the planet continues to heat up and animal habitats change.”
Our video on World Animal Day is a celebration of the 4%. Our commitment is to increase and protect that.
