The destruction of nature

I’m definitely no hippie, but I’ve always felt that humans and nature are inextricably intertwined in ways that we have yet to understand. I’ve also learnt over time that the way we treat the environment, and the animals in it, is usually a window into our souls. Ultimately, research has also shown time and time again that people who are more connected to nature are usually happier in life and more likely to report feeling that their lives are worthwhile.

This is why when I read reports like the ones I’ve seen this week, I am part shocked, part horrified, and part concerned that we continue to show such disregard for the local environment. Just this week, it was reported that an area in Swieqi that had been purposefully landscaped with indigenous trees and shrubs was destroyed within minutes. The act of vandalism that caused significant damage to the site is now under investigation by the police, and authorities have said there may already be indications of who the culprits are. This senseless act of barbarity has not only undone months of planning and effort but also laid waste to the substantial public investment required for such a project.

And while we are speaking about senseless acts of barbarity, I urge only people with the strongest of stomachs to see the video released this week of a trapper in Gozo, crushing a protected kestrel under his boot. How trapping can even be called a sport is one of the greatest mysteries this country holds. Even imagining the last moments this poor creature must have endured is enough to bring tears to my eyes.

The fact that this man simply tossed the bird into a bush like rubbish after destroying it only further illustrates the callous indifference that so many of our fellow countrypeople seem to have toward the environment. Given incidents like this, it’s little wonder that ADPD official Mark Zerafa has called for increased surveillance in the countryside “through more specialised police officers with the full support and resources they require”.

I won’t mince words here (not that I know how to anyway), but there is something inherently wrong with a people that is unable to live peacefully and respectfully with nature. When you go out of your way to intentionally destroy other living things for nothing more than sport, whether they be trees or birds and other animals, something is going on that should probably be reviewed by a good shrink. Lest we forget that a history of animal cruelty is a significant predictor of higher psychopathic trait scores.

Our propensity for good is not just measured by how we treat others but is also embedded in the environment we inhabit and in what we do to respect and protect it. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us not to exploit nature and educate both ourselves and those who will come after us on how to best care for the land we occupy.

A nation that destroys its nature, destroys itself.