How to Actually Protect Our Wildlife

The world is united in mourning the death of Cecil, a majestic lion who was poached and killed by a trophy hunter. There are many things that could have prevented Cecil’s death, and which could prevent the deaths of every “Cecil,” every sentient, fellow animal sharing this magnificent planet with us. The most powerful prevention is humane education, which fosters the innate compassion that is our children’s birthright and couples that compassion with wonder, critical and creative thinking, a sense of responsibility, and a solutions-oriented mindset to address the challenges we face in the world. It is hard to imagine children who have experienced humane education killing a fellow animal for fun or a trophy. It’s easy to imagine such children collaboratively developing meaningful solutions to poaching and a host of other pervasive problems.

We are told by the media that the fees trophy hunters pay protect the habitat for megafauna like Cecil, as if our only option is to sell the lives of a few animals to the wealthiest bidders to ensure the protection of others. Humane Education, www.HumaneEducation.org rejects such false choices and prepares young people to be true solutionaries who identify challenges and create positive changes for human and nonhuman animals, and the earth.

One has to wonder how Cecil's life would ultimately have ended differently had his killer had the benefit of humane education as a child. Most likely he would never have grown up to be a killer at all.