Dhaka, 3 April 2021: In 2019, the United Nations released a report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), warning of an “unprecedented” and “dangerous” decline of nature as extinction rates skyrocketed for species around the world.
In its report compiling information from 145 experts in 50 countries, IPBES warns, “The average abundance of native species in most major land-based habitats has fallen by at least 20 percent, mostly since 1900. More than 40 percent of amphibian species, almost 33 percent of reef-forming corals, and more than a third of all marine mammals are threatened.”
If Earth is facing the “sixth mass extinction” as many scientists believe, then who is at fault? Why is this severe decline in biodiversity happening, and how can we stop it?
Why Are Animals Becoming Extinct?
Most of the threats facing endangered animals are caused by humans. In 2020, researchers sounded the alarm for more than 500 species of vertebrates “on the brink of extinction” within the next 20 years. This extinction crisis is being driven first and foremost by human activity.
Poaching, wildlife trafficking, and hunting all put animals at risk, but there is an even more daunting threat to endangered species that is being ignored: animal agriculture. Deforestation, habitat loss, overfishing, global warming, and other issues linked to animal farming are putting wild species in danger of collapse.
As industrial animal farming continues to encroach on the natural world, more and more species are being put in harm’s way. Below is a list of some of the animals currently facing extinction and how humans, and more specifically animal agriculture, are involved.
Animals That Are Going Extinct
Saola
The primary threat to the critically endangered saola, discovered not long ago in 1992, is hunting, according to IUCN, which called the mammal especially vulnerable to hunting with dogs. In 2009, the IUCN reported that experts believe the “saola cannot be saved without intensified removal of poachers’ snares and reduction of hunting with dogs in key areas of the Annamite forests.”
North Atlantic Right Whale
One of the most endangered species of whale in the world, with fewer than 400 individuals remain, the North Atlantic Right Whale faces many dangers including high levels of ocean noise and warmer water, but “entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes are the leading causes of North Atlantic right whale mortality,” writes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA estimates that over 85 percent of right whales have experienced being entangled in fishing gear at least once in their lifetime.
This species was once nearly wiped out by whaling. In fact, the right whale got its name because it was viewed as the “right whale” to hunt, being a slow swimmer and floating to the surface when killed. Today, the fishing and shipping industries are the North Atlantic Right Whale’s deadliest threats.
Gharial
The gharial crocodile is “one of the world’s most endangered reptiles,” reports BBC, “clinging to survival in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.” Among the threats pushing the gharial to the brink are agriculture and aquaculture, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
“Farming and agriculture, mining, pollution, and general disturbances have all contributed towards the radical decline in Gharial numbers. Even livestock have contributed towards their decline as livestock such as water buffalo and cattle have destroyed and damaged riverbanks, sandbanks, and gharial nests by simply grazing,” writes EndangeredList.org.
Kakapo
The critically endangered kakapo parrot is unique among most of the species listed here because its threats are not deforestation or hunting by humans—yet sadly, only an estimated 116 of these birds are believed to remain. According to IUCN, the kakapo’s main threats are invasive species, genes, and diseases.
Amur Leopard
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) calls the situation faced by the critically endangered Amur leopard “critical,” due to “extensive habitat loss and conflict with humans.” One of the drivers of habitat loss is the conversion of land for farming. Agriculture indirectly impacts the fate of this leopard, too, the WWF points out. “Agriculture and villages surround the forests where the leopards live. As a result, the forests are relatively accessible, making poaching a bigger problem than elsewhere.”
Vaquita
The world’s most endangered ocean mammal, the vaquita porpoise, is quickly vanishing and its decline is due to illegal fishing gear used to catch another critically endangered animal: the totoaba fish. World Animal Protection writes, “The vaquita’s proximity to extinction is due to illegal fishing activity and the resulting abandoned gillnets, known as ghost nets. Although an estimated 10 vaquitas are remaining, Mexico is considering reducing its protections for the porpoise.
