Editor:
Councillor De Andrade’s proposal claims biodiversity conservation as her reasoning. In a Yale December 2020 article, “How Non-native Plants Are Contributing to a Global Insect Decline,” one need only look at the lack of insects to eat as the reason there are no birds.
Ninety-six per cent of birds rear their young on insects, who rely on native plants for food – with the diet of most insects restricted to a single plant family. Yet humans destroy native plants with the help of herbicides, fungicides and fire retardant. Humans also rarely plant native plants in their gardens and environment, creating food deserts for native insects. This is becoming a worldwide problem, reducing the abundance of birds. Yet we add insecticides and pesticides, targeting insects as well.
Recent research has proven that the demise of insects has created the apocalyptic decimation of our beloved birds. I suggest laws requiring at least 50 per cent indigenous plants in gardens, or laws banning herbicides, fire retardants, insecticides, bug spraying, etc. that reduce the insect and bird populations, would be more useful than caging yet another animal for the rest of his life.
Personally, I think the domestication, caging, abuse and restriction of animals has gone too far. …That we would be wise to love them, learn from them, and leave them to the wild as much as possible – where nature takes care of nature as it is supposed to, and biodiversity is encouraged, not restricted and destroyed.
Thea Hollett
Gibsons
