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07/24/2003 Entry: "Ant protection"
Josh Claybourn points out this story about Ant Protection in Germany as evidence that Germany is a nation of clowns:
ANIMAL LOVING GERMAN officials issued a warning to citizens that it was now illegal to kill ants and announced at the same time that it had appointed 85 Ant Protection Officers to protect ants nationwide. Homeowners and gardeners who attempt to destroy an anthill or subterranean nest will be subject to hefty fines if caught.It's easy to see how this story can be held up to ridicule. I mean, how could any rational nation appoint officers to protect creatures which most of us regard as pests? We don't often think of the contribution that "creepy crawlies" make to us - the idea of protecting what deserves to be stepped on seems nonsense. But these creatures do bring benefits, and in the case of the German ants that benefit is apparently pest control in their forestry industry. How big a contribution they make I have no idea, but it seems that the Germans have decided that it is big enough to merit legislation. I couldn't claim to know enough about it to say that they're definitely wrong.
I remember reading some time ago that the value to US agriculture of the honey bee is estimated at $9 billion, and that about one third of the human diet in developed countries is directly or indirectly traceable to bee pollination. Now I'm not claiming that ants have anything like that level of usefulness. But even a fraction of that sort of contribution is worth protecting.
Isn't it?
Replies:
Now why didn't I think of that!
Posted by Richard @ 07/25/2003 11:38 PM CST
Not to mention Proverbs 6:6-8 -- well, somebody had to! :-)
Posted by Rob Smith @ 07/25/2003 09:12 PM CST
