Consider the bleak track record. Biologist James Estes, of the University of California–Santa Cruz, calculated that each sea otter washed and released after Exxon Valdez cost $80,000—and two-thirds of them died within two years anyway; biologists estimate that natural annual mortality for the species is about 6 percent. An estimated 375,000 to 700,000 birds were killed by the Exxon Valdez spill, Sharp says, compared with 800 rescued (at a cost of $41 million)—and most of those died within days of being released. Cleaned and released birds should be counted among the dead, Sharp contended in the journal Ibis in 1996 and still believes today. That’s why, as harsh as it sounds, the standard practice in Germany and Norway has been euthanizing oiled birds and other wildlife.
... is it a waste of money, time and resources to rescue these animals?
No comments:
Post a Comment