Save the slugs?

What's worse is when attempts to save "cute" species prove so lucrative that they continue to pull major funds long after the practices that they purport to be fighting are curtailed. The "baby seal hunt," which is now illegal, is a prime example - all you need is a photo of a baby harp seal, a juicy publicity stunt or two, and some deceptive language (or outright lies) and you're up to your eyeballs in donations that might better have been spent actually saving endangered species, instead of stuffing the pockets of unethical media puppeteers.

Oh, and anyone who thinks bats (especially our endangered Little Brown and Indiana bats) aren't cute has never seen one up close! To find out more about bats, visit www.batcon.org.

Saving bees is pretty important to everyone who eats. Do you get much feedback on that topic?

Hi - no, I don't. I've only written about the bee colony collapse periodically - and not in the last year but looked back and didn't get many emails from readers....but got a few from beekeepers and farmers of fruit crops.

Beth, Scientist here. Agree with you. Add bees, frogs and songbirds to the species our kid's kids will wonder why we didn't do more to save them. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter anymore, I'm afraid. A lot of scientists are of the mind that we're heading for the next big broad-spectrum die-off, no matter what we do now. I'm of the mind that this world won't be worth living in/on in 50 years or so.. Stupid, short sighted naked apes.

Glad to see that political correctness has reached new lows. Humans are the cause of so much misery. If only we could sacrifice ourselves to the enviromental gods so that all other lifeforms could live on without our interference.

Do you think the lions in Africa argue about which species to kill for dinner?

I like bats.

What I LOVE about bats is their voracious appetite for bugs. Got a very nice bat house mounted where I call home. Love frogs too.

We are all kidding ourselves, it is GMO's, and where there is MONEY to be made, there is paid denial - or does anyone remember when cigarette companies hired so many doctors and scientists to find "no evidence that cigarette smoking is harmful to your health".
olschool Rocks

Bats actually are really cute (I think so, anyway) and so are rats. I used to have a rat as a pet, actually. She was very clean and friendly. But all animals are important, regardless of cuteness.

Would I rally around the rats?

No!

I live in mosquito infested Carlisle - I love bats... now, a save the mosquito cause would be vary hard for me to rally around!

Im all for helping bats combat this mysterious disease. I know that they eat thousands of bugs/mosquito's an evening. As some else mentioned the bee's are also threatened, and I know the important work they do as pollinators. Lets hope that both species get the help they need.

Environmentalism has been plagued by the 'greenie weenies' for as long as the movement has been around, people moved to knee-jerk preservationism by emotion and sentiment.
I see a new wave of more rational environmentalism, as more scientists, engineers, and economists see the value of protecting our natural resources. I hope this will continue and we'll see more people championing the cause of the form-follows-function species.

A world without bats would be a much itchier place.
Had a bat house at my old home, installed as instructed but no one ever moved in, which surprised me, since we were near water and there were LOTS of mosquitoes. We'd watch the bats swoop around eating them some evenings. I should put one up at the new homestead. I will say, when they've gotten in my house it has kind of freaked me out, but outside, I'm a fan. (I think even a "cute bird" in my house would kind of freak me out, though . . . )

I like bats. I've even saved them when they got inside the house. I think there is a lot of fear surrounding them because of rabies and because their likenesses are used as Halloween props. Like any wild animal if you see a bat don't try to feed it or pat it. Live and let live...it's that simple.

I do think it is pathetic that people mainly want to save cute and cuddly, but not bats or bees. Bees are responsible for the pollenation of trees, flowers, fruits, and veggies. Bats are responsible for eating pests like nile-virus-carrying mosquitos. Our world is better off for both of them.

It would be nice if people could understand that EVERY creature plays a role in our ecosystem. Any animal that dies out will leave a gaping hole, no matter how cute and cuddly they are or aren't.

How typical that someone (Columbine) turned this article into a tirade against those involved in the campaign to end the cruel baby seal hunt (yes, it IS a baby seal hunt, considering pups killed are 12 days - 3 months old), slandering their good name simply because he/she doesn't have a valid argument to justify the cruelty.

I agree that it is unfortunate that some consider "cute" animals more worthy of assistance than "not so cute" animals. These people are referred to as speciesists. For example, some people work hard to to save kittens and puppies which is admirable, but they continue to eat chickens and pigs despite the fact that all of those species have the same capacity for fear, pain and love. Equally guilty are those who think welfare of animals is not important unless that animal is endangered. Regardless of whether an animal is endangered, cruelty is cruelty.

The truth is that there is something about certain animals that resonates with us and we respond to that. I personally wish people cared about ALL animals, regardless of cuteness and endangered status. I love all animals equally - it doesn't matter if they're cute or if they are endangered. They're all beautiful in my eyes and equally deserving of respect.