"Highly compelling...page-turning read" — TNC's Cool Green Science
We love our pets. Dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, and other species have become an essential part of more families than ever before—in North America today, pets outnumber people. Pet owners are drawn to their animal companions through an innate desire to connect with other species. But there is a dark side to our domestic connection with animal life: the pet industry is contributing to a global conservation crisis for wildlife—often without the knowledge of pet owners.
In Unnatural Companions, journalist Peter Christie issues a call to action for pet owners. If we hope to reverse the alarming trend of wildlife decline, pet owners must acknowledge the pets-versus-conservation dilemma and concede that our well-fed and sheltered cats too often prey on small backyard wildlife and seemingly harmless reptiles released into the wild might be the next destructive invasive species. We want our pets to eat nutritionally healthy food, but how does the designer food we feed them impact the environment?
Christie's book is a cautionary tale to responsible pet owners about why we must change the ways we love and care for our pets. It concludes with the positive message that the small changes we make at home can foster better practices within the pet industry that will ultimately benefit our pets’ wild brethren.
0 有用 炸东律 2023-06-12 15:45:28 广东
书的前面章节主要是从不同方面阐述各类人类养宠物对于本地生物多样性的伤害，一些平时看科普多的朋友可能已经了如指掌或者模糊了解，可能主要价值在于跟着读作者选择的具体案例、访谈，比如宠物口粮公司，比如捕猎蟒蛇的退伍军人；有一些地方，为了建立起“养宠伤害生物多样性”，看起来就是费了好大的劲但是只能微弱地让两者沾边。谈解决方案的部分，有很多我完全不知道的内容（比如，讲如何有效降低散养猫捕猎成功率），但其实未... 书的前面章节主要是从不同方面阐述各类人类养宠物对于本地生物多样性的伤害，一些平时看科普多的朋友可能已经了如指掌或者模糊了解，可能主要价值在于跟着读作者选择的具体案例、访谈，比如宠物口粮公司，比如捕猎蟒蛇的退伍军人；有一些地方，为了建立起“养宠伤害生物多样性”，看起来就是费了好大的劲但是只能微弱地让两者沾边。谈解决方案的部分，有很多我完全不知道的内容（比如，讲如何有效降低散养猫捕猎成功率），但其实未必是书本前面有尝试铺垫过的内容，显得略显突兀…用“人类对其他动物，天然想要产生连结的欲望”作为全书的引子和收尾部分的呼吁，其实还是重诗意、重联想、重说服。顺便，非常好奇科普书籍对于严谨性的定义是什么，有机会翻一下它的文献部分。 (展开)