Protecting Wild Animal Abundance with Natalie Jacewicz

The world is hemorrhaging wild animals. Relative to fifty years ago, trees have fewer birds, rivers fewer fish, and bonnets fewer bees. The result is a radically reshaped environment, yet for the most part, these changes lie beyond the ambit of American environmental law. Statutes such as the Endangered Species Act prevent rare species from extinction, and state fish and game laws ensure the supply of sport animals runs high. But no law focuses on maintaining large numbers of animals considered common. As a result, eye-popping numbers of common wild animals can die without triggering statutory alarm bells. In this talk, moderated by LEAP Postgraduate Fellow Laurie Sellars, University of San Diego School of Law Professor Natalie Jacewicz argues that draining abundance should concern us and that the law should change to protect common animals’ numbers. Both instrumental views of wildlife and those that assign nature or animals intrinsic value can provide foundations to value abundance. Yet depending on the rationale adopted, the prescriptions for protecting abundance change dramatically.