New Orbit Magazine Issue 08; Feb 2020, The Future of Animals

population to sustainable levels.
. So, we have to listen
to the rural people, we have to talk with
them, we have to understand if you're a
farmer trying to make a living, it really
matters if your chickens are getting eaten
by a weasel, or if your lambs are getting
eaten by a coyote, it’s a very serious
matter.
I think even a billion,
over the long haul, is a great many
people, unless we want to live much,
much more simply. But, from what I'm
seeing now, in my mid-fifties, when I talk
with younger folk, I get the sense they're
create compensation programmes. I
think those of us who want native species
back on the ground need to be willing to
pay a little extra for food. We need to be
willing to pay the farmers indirectly or
directly if they lose livestock to predators.
But, another obstacle to rewilding,
perhaps the biggest in the world, really, is
just the
. I
know that human population is a very
controversial, sensitive subject, but to my
mind,
. I
think, this may not have been the case in
the past, but I think right now, at least in
the affluent countries,
. That is, I
don't think many people want to give up
their modern conveniences but, I think
many people are willing to have a small
family. And, of course, people with small
families tend to have more disposable
income. So, what I'm hoping is that we
can convince the next coming
generations,
. I think we have to humanely
and compassionately educate each other,
and create financial incentives to
encourage a stabilisation of population
in every country, practically, and then
gradual peaceful voluntary declines in
We all love children.
And, people are good. But, we are too
many, right now. You get different
numbers from different demographers
and ecologists, but I think a billion
would be plenty of people to maintain a
vast, comfortable civilisation for
everybody.