Photo from Sierra Club page, see link
Wildlife victimized by US/Mexico political boundaries
I wrote previously on the on the controversial US/Mexico fence that is supposed to be stopping illegal immigration, but is in fact disrupting wildlife on both sides of the border.
Wildlife and conservation organizations here in the US and in Mexico are raising the alarm, but changes have to be made immediately to reverse the damage that’s already occurring.
Bighorn sheep and pygmy owls are acknowledged to be at risk, while countless other animals and habitats are being compromised. Rare desert tortoises, snakes, and surprising mammals like deer, jaguars and bears, not to mention wild turkeys and other birds, are already feeling the effects of this barrier.
Because of the large ranges and small populations of many of these species, the appearance of an impenetrable blockade dividing them from food, water, shelter, mates and migration paths can very quickly mean the extinction of these populations.
I have just obtained permission from The Sierra Club to share this heart-wrenching video on the effects the border fence is having on wildlife.
This shows, more eloquently than I could ever state, just how much damage humans can do, and how much we are evidently willing to sacrifice for our own ends.
(Video is slightly truncated here. To see full-screen, please watch this video on the page from The Sierra Club.)
I would like to gratefully acknowledge that these materials are linked and/or reproduced from sierraclub.org with permission of the Sierra Club
Thanks also to Billie Greenwood for alerting me to this work by The Sierra Club.
Comments
OH PLEASE!
Chilled is obviously more into fighting Mexicans than worrying about any critters that happen to be about to get their habitat snuffed. Cathy is right on this one. The fence is wrong because of its draconian effect on wildlife and for two reasons that have nothing to do with wildlife. 1. It is a very, very expensive idea and 2. IT DOES NOT AND WILL NOT WORK! Just like the WWII fence put up by the French or the Berlin Wall, this fence will become either a very expensive symbol of hatred or an object of ridicule to mock the Statue of Liberty and our social attitudes as time goes on. Meanwhile, desperate immigrants will continue to come--over, under, around, or through the fence. Wildlife, with no such options, will permanently be denied portions of their habitat and many will die. This is a very expensive way to murder a few animals and you don't even get a trophy to hang on the wall. The only real solution is to help Mexico bring up their standard of living so they won't come.
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