Urban Wildlife Contraversy in Canada Particularly in Calgary, Alberta - Research Paper Example

natural habitats, worldwide2, while we find that nearly two-thirds of the land available, has been used for human purposes alone, like building villages, townships or cities; for agricultural purposes; and also for other infrastructural developments, aimed, no doubt, to benefit human endeavour in leading a better life. All these actions, beneficial as they are to mankind, have resulted in an eradication and systematic degradation of the environment, and have caused massive damages on the surrounding biodiversity.

So from the perspective of environmental ethics, human civilisation has been mainly “limited to the relations of man to man”3. However, in the recent times it has been noticed that there is an increasing awareness amongst various sections of the human population, that are willing to work towards protection of wild animals, and the preservation of environment, at large. Carnivore conservation, a controversial topic by itself, since most of the carnivores tend to kill livestock while occasionally preying on humans too, however has received a great deal of impetus in the last 15-20 years4.

Since human economic interests and carnivores come into constant conflict, there have been increasing attempts by the conservationists to find a workable solution, which would serve to help both these warring factions co-exist, without causing harm to each other5. In the entire North American region that includes Canada, wolves were ruthlessly killed during the colonial rule. It is only recently that, owing to various wolf management programs, an increase in the number of these carnivores has been observed in various parts of Canada.

This sudden surge in numbers over the past few years have however also led to rising number of conflicts with the humans (especially in the Alberta region of Canada), as these carnivores are now moving into the rural areas to kill livestock which form an easy prey. In order to protect the livestock, the farmers are now forced to opt for