How Endangered are they?

Because Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, because they did not do what God had told them to do, God put a curse on the earth. Where there was only life, you could now find death, animals ate each other and man was now allowed to kill animals for food. Because of sin, death had now entered the world. The thing is, that along with sin and death, there also came a permanent struggle to stay alive; for many animals this was too big of a task and for many years they declined in numbers until in the end they became extinct; they were gone, their species was wiped off the face of the earth never to return.

Extinction

This happened to many species of animals right after the great flood, there were so many climate changes that some just could not survive, much less thrive on the new earth. It wasn't only Noah's flood that has been responsible for the disappearance of so many species of animals, a lot of the problem has been with us, irresponsibility on our part has also taken its toll on the animals that live on earth with us.

A classic example of irresponsibility that led to the extinction of a species is the Passenger Pigeon, this is a type of dove that lived in North America and he numbered in the tens of millions back in the 1800's, hunting by us drove that species to extinction, of course not everybody hunted irresponsibly but the majority did. An example of a species that almost endured the same fate is the North American buffalo, these animals could be found in herds of tens of thousands all across the west but they were slaughtered for their skin, their carcasses left to rot in the sun, that was irresponsibility on our part. There are other reasons that certain species have gone extinct, their habitat has been destroyed or animals not native to the respective area have been introduced, like the toad that they are having so much trouble with in Australia.

That is all stuff that we have done to the planet that we live on. The thing that is unfortunate is the fact that children are being taught in the schools that humans are nothing more then animals and that because we are all animals then animals have the same rights as we do, because we are animals …too.

Of course it has to be a balance if we want the wild animals around, however the Bible tells us to subdue nature for man’s own benefit and for God's glory; what some people are doing today with animal rights is not only ridiculous but it is against the Bible.

As you have probably have already heard, there is an attempt to declare an 26- year-old male chimpanzee, a "person". This case is debated in Austria, but there are other countries besides Austria where people encounter the idea of primate’s rights. If it this chimpanzee becomes a "person"(I can’t stop laughing) the evolution theory is proven under our own eyes! I am joking…however this has the potential to set a global legal precedent for declaring an animal as being a "person". Never knows, maybe my dog will eventually be declared a person too…However, Hiasl's supporters say that the chimpanzee needs this status in order to receive donations and get a guardian to look out for his interests.

"Our main argument is that Hiasl is a person and has basic legal rights," said lawyer Eberhart Theuer.

"We mean the right to life, the right to not be tortured, the right to freedom under certain conditions," Theuer said.

"We're not talking about the right to vote here."

However not all Austrian animal rights members support this idea. Michael Antolini, the president of the local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said :"I'm not about to make myself look like a fool by getting involved", said Antolini.

Some people are genuinely concerned, but many are only worried about their own governmental benefits. However, keeping in mind the clear balance God gives us, we have to respect creation and use if for our benefit without destroying it or getting into inadequate extremes.