Species Protection Day 2022
From the perspective of Gut Aiderbichl
Species Conservation Day is of the highest importance for the planet. The purpose of this special day is to draw attention to the importance of wild animal and plant species in nature.
Red lists of endangered and threatened species have been in existence for 60 years. A total of 180 countries worldwide have signed the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
Habitat loss is the end for many things
When humans began farming and settling, animal habitats and vegetation changed. It is becoming increasingly obvious that humans are upsetting the Earth's biodiversity with imprudent use of nature. For many centuries, direct exploitation of natural resources was carried out and animals and plants became extinct due to chain breaks.
By building up valuable farmland and grassland, the storage of water and carbon is lost. Thus, important natural areas perish, which increases the extinction of animal and plant species. As an example: in Austria, around 13 hectares of soil are built on every day, which means as much as 6,600 football fields per year that are no longer available for nature.
Rethinking for the benefit of animals and plants
Any species that goes extinct is "gone". Breeding again - is it not an insult to nature? Why do we destroy in order to breed again?
At Gut Aiderbichl, for example, a group of aurochs found a new home. The aurochs - the mother of all cattle - had been exterminated, only to start breeding again in 1920.
In general, sheep were used for milk and meat production. Their fat was used to make candles and their dung was used in the fields.
The Hungarian Zackel sheep were first mentioned in the 9th century and are thus an ancient breed among sheep. They were the trademark of the Hungarian puszta and their wool was used to make coats. Since the 19th century, the Merino sheep has replaced the scratchy wool of the Zackel sheep because it's softer.
Another breed of sheep that is threatened with extinction is the black-nosed, which have been bred since the 15th century. Our Inspector Gadget is a specimen of special beauty among this breed.
No life would be possible without the bee. Bees are indispensable for ecological diversity, pollination and the reproduction of plants. Increasing monocultures and thus the loss of areas where native plants can grow threaten the bees' important work in nature. Pesticides cause problems for them, because they attack their nervous system.
Two minutes time for the future of nature
Humans, vegetation and the animal world, the oceans - everything is interwoven in a single web. The web can only hold up if the system is maintained by renouncing too many luxuries, by respect and a change in people's way of thinking.
Only when the last tree is felled, the last river poisoned, the last animal killed, only then you will realise that money can't be eaten.
- - Dakota
In this sense,
Sincerely,
Your Gisela
