Humanoids are not exactly a beacon of intelligence when it comes to preserving the biological diversity of this planet.
(I really wish this article was from "The onion").
Another Cecil? Researcher for New York museum kills rare bird in name of science, draws outrage from PETA
BY
David Boroff
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Monday, October 12, 2015, 8:35 PM
This moustached kingfisher was found and euthanized by New York scientist Christopher Filardi.
A researcher for New York's American Museum of Natural History has outraged animal rights activists after killing a rare bird that had been unseen for half a century — all in the name of science.
Anger from all corners of the Internet prompted the
Audubon Society to publish a defensefrom New York-based scientist Christopher Filardi after he discovered the moustached kingfisher on the island of Guadalcanal, and then promptly killed it in order to study it as a specimen, a common practice known as "collecting," often applied to birds not as rare.
"It is a tired and nonsensical, self-serving claim that you must kill some animals in the name of research so as to study them enough to save them," PETA Senior Director Colleen O’Brien wrote in an email to the Daily News on Monday. "This argument is as daft as Walter Palmer saying he shot Cecil the lion with a high-powered crossbow to save other lions.
"To search for and find an animal of a rare species — an individual with feelings, interests, a home, and perhaps a mate—only to kill him is perverse, cruel, and the sort of act that has led to the extinction of other animals who were also viewed as 'specimens,'" she continued. "All that was needed to document this rare bird was compassion, awe, and a camera, not disregard and a death warrant."
Filardi wrote in his defense that "this was neither an easy decision nor one made in the spur of the moment."
Although he said that this was not a "trophy hunt," many say his actions were brutal and unwarranted. It comes on the heels of the killing of Cecil the lion by Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer in Zimbabwe earlier this year.
Filardi, currently overseas, could not be reached for comment by the Daily News. According to his bio on the museum's website, Filardi "has a long history of conducting conservation and education activities."
There are approximately 250 to 1,000 mature moustached kingfishers left on the planet,
according to Discover. Filardi insisted taking this bird would not endanger the species, and would provide enormous scientific benefits.
"With this first modern voucher of the kingfisher, the only adult male, we now have a comprehensive set of material for molecular, morphological, toxicological, and plumage studies that are unavailable from blood samples, individual feathers, or photographs," he wrote.
After the bird was found, the museum boasted of the find on Twitter.
“These were, indeed, the first-ever photos of the male moustached kingfisher alive,” Chris Matyszczyk
wrote on CNET. "It didn’t live much longer."
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/researcher-ny-museum-kills-rare-bird-science-article-1.2394167
