On April 29, the Research Department of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) organized a seminar on "Asian Elephants and Anti-Wild Animal Cruelty". The seminar invited several experts and scholars in the field of wildlife protection and environmental justice to participate in the discussion. Zhou Jinfeng, Secretary-General of CBCGDF delivered a speech on the seminar. He pointed out that when talking about wildlife conservation from the perspective of Asian elephants, we must attach great importance to scientific and technological ethics in the era of new civilization.

His speech script is as follows:

Today, with the opening of the era of ecological civilization, ethics, as an important part of civilization, is also undergoing rapid changes. And in the work of science and technology, which is of great concern to us, the new ethics are increasingly becoming the focus of our attention.

In 2018, the CBCGDF Council discussed and decided to change the Biological and Scientific Ethics Working Group of CBCGDF, which has been working for a long time, into the Biological and Scientific Ethics Working Committee of CBCGDF (BASE). For some time now, we have stuck to several ideas of work.

??First of all, we conduct extensive and in-depth discussions, and actively organize and participate in discussions with scientists in related fields, including citizen scientists. Recently, we have also received a lot of attention from scientists, volunteers and the public about the Asian elephant incident, which is an ethical issue in science and an ethical issue in biodiversity.

We know in the era of industrial civilization, animals are widely used as tools and objects of entertainment. Many countries have animal performances, even wild animal performances, as well as pet performances. These phenomena have always existed actively in the ethical framework of industrial civilization. However, entering the era of ecological civilization, we should know that the requirement of ecological civilization is to insist on the harmonious coexistence of man and nature, and insist on respecting living creatures. Then, under the macro guidance of the idea of ecological civilization, it will be clear when we discuss the issue of Asian elephants, because Asian elephants are endangered species, which we must protect. The strategies and methods for its conversation should be in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, and should also be compatible with the new ethics.

What is the new ethics? We believe that endangered wild species, including Asian elephants, should not be used as objects. Whether it is used as food, medicine, or performances, this should be stopped. We cannot satisfy our recreational needs or our appetites at the expense of biodiversity.

Then, there are still many problems involved in the big logic. For example, attitudes toward pets, ethical issues in the livestock and poultry industry, and marine animal issues—including the establishment of zoos and aquariums. ??We do not agree to set up a new aquarium, because it is a huge threat to marine life, which is not only a theory, but also a lot of facts. ??We believe that with everyone's attention, the problem of Asian elephants will hopefully be resolved. We believe that through the extensive participation of the public this time, the idea of ecological civilization has been widely disseminated, and more and more people have begun to accept, learn, practice, and participate in the construction of ecological civilization. ??We hope that some industries can also make changes. Through earnestly studying the idea of ecological civilization, we understand that today’s climate change crisis, biodiversity crisis and public health crisis (including the sixth mass extinction of the earth), are all Because of the consequences of the disorderly development of industrial civilization. Of course, industrial civilization has also brought us a lot of great contributions. Without industrial civilization, it is impossible for our planet to feed 7.7 billion people. However, today we must start a new civilization and attach great importance to scientific ethics work. We need to learn ecological civilization ideas and build a new biological and scientific ethics framework to guide our work. That’s all. Thank you all.

Original Chinese Article:https://www.bilibili.com/read/cv16569993

Translator: Daisy

Editor: Lucy

Contact the editors: v10@cbcgdf.org;  +8617319454776

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