In the contemporary world, it is true that the economic prosperity that humans have enjoyed in recent history has come at the expense of wildlife. Because of this, the conservation of wild animals has always been a topic of interest. However, a school of thought holds that human beings should only protect those which are beneficial to us. While this thinking is valid to some extent, I believe that it is in the interests of humankind to save all the animals no matter how important part they play in our daily lives.
It is understandable why several people think that we should only provide protection to animals that are useful to us. This is because they believe that there are more pressing issues nowadays that need addressing than protecting wild animals. For example, countries where poverty and unemployment are rife are in dire need of funding to remedy such problems and raise living standards. Compared to these urgent needs, combatting the extinction of many animals does seem like an unworthy cause. Therefore, only animals that play a vital part to humankind should be preserved, so these nations can save money to tackle their own problems.
However, notwithstanding the fact that there are indeed many crucial sectors for countries to pay attention to, I believe it would be unwise to ignore the unshaken importance of wildlife preservation. Chief of these is that humans, in fact, have an inextricable relationship with wildlife, which means the disappearance of a wild animal could seriously threaten the survival of mankind. The Asian elephant is a telling example. Their appearance helps sustain the grasslands on which countless other species depend, and thus maintain the ecological balance. As such, the decline in elephant population could spell trouble for coconut trees in Asian countries such as Vietnam and Thailand, and ultimately the local communities. This is a testament to how preserving all wild animals is also synonymous with safeguarding the existence of humans.
In conclusion, while it seems that protecting only animals that play an important part in humans’ life is justifiable, I am of the opinion that it is actually of paramount importance to the survival of human beings to save all the animals that are on the verge of extinction.