“People often ask which animals are ‘good,’ as of it were the most natural thing in the world to judge them by what benefits they provide to humans. Even animal advocates can lapse into this faulty way of thinking. Bats are important, many say, because they perform mosquito control; snakes are valued because they eat rodents. These are indirect services that can help humans, no doubt, but they do not so much justify why people should tolerate and accept these species as they add to our understanding of them. Tolerance comes through understanding and a raised awareness and acceptance of the diversity of life, not from a benefit calculation that reduces animal to the services they provide. But let’s not kid ourselves; we’re not there yet. So, here’s the benefit muskrats provide: they will help people regain the wetlands we have wantonly destroyed and bring us back from the brink of the near ecological disaster we face as a result. Put them together with a few million beaver here and there, and the wetlands service will be significant—and human beings will never see a bill for any of it” (Wild Neighbors, pg.148).
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