Animal welfare activists in Colombia have long opposed proposals to kill the hippos, arguing they deserve to live, and adding that addressing the problem through violence sets a poor example for a country that has gone through decades of internal conflict.
First off, I love all animals. They were here long before humans showed up and have a right to life.
The problems begin when human-introduced animals start taking over from native species. The most well-known issue was on the Galapogos islands where invasive rats and cats (accidentally brought over on ships in the 1800’s) were killing many of the native species.
In 2021 two islands were finally cleared of rats who were killed using drones and poison pellets (https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/drones-help-eradicate-invasive-rats-on-galapagos-islands/). There is current work ongoing to deal with the cats and other species of invasive plants and animals.
None of this mess is the hippos fault, but because one rich selfish man decided he wanted to own hippos the whole lot of them must die. And that sucks.
They do deserve to live. But some drug lord messed that up for them.
Hippos are really cool, but they are one of the most dangerous animals in the world. With no predators, one can hardly think it’s reasonable to allow uncontrollable growth of a population of deadly animals that can snap a gator in half and will purposefully attack humans.
They’re one of my favorite animals, but I totally understand why they are planning to do this.
I love how every couple years, they’ll do another surge of culling, but it’s never enough. What a legacy.
