All the folderol about animal waste ruining our world brings up a question: Has there ever been a study on how much manure was, and is, scattered over our planet by wild animals and pets? Of the millions of bison that formerly roamed our land, did they deposit less or more chips than our present herds of cattle? What about the vast herds of gnus and other beasts that migrate up and down South Africa? The Outback of Australia would seem to have its share of kangaroo, rabbit and wild buffalo excrement.
My question is, if we stopped raising cattle and chickens, how much pollution would still be out there from fowl and fauna and domestic pets? Like everything else in life, we need to see the whole picture, even as we do a better job on handling waste. If we curb production of domestic cattle, fowl and hogs, what about wild deer and hogs that wreck havoc over our land? Balance would seem to be the key, rather than ‘whole hog’ or none.
I haven’t even mentioned the amount of pet animal waste that messes up our sidewalks and parks by the ton. Should we stop raising horses that we neither work nor eat just for riding and racing because they get pretty smelly? There are too many sources of pollution to get on your soapbox against one or two. The caution of straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel would fit here. Humans are perhaps more the culprit than any other animal. Haven’t you seen the burning gas beside the big landfill on I-240? How many more like that are spewing out gas into our Oklahoma air?
Bob Spear
Shawnee
