EDITORIAL: Like it or not, other species exist throughout every human population. From domestic companions such as dogs, cats and birds, and the livestock many of us depend on for food and fibre, to the wildlife regularly seen in semi-rural communities, there is just no escaping animals.
Although most people would agree that humans need to live and let live, few issues seem to divide us like our furry and feathered friends.
Passionate debate always follows in the wake of animal stories, rendering some humans completely rabid when it comes to objecting to the preservation of natural habitat for wildlife in the face of advancing development; yet causing others to get equally worked up about captive animals.
Surely there is some balanced territory in the debate, where we can achieve good outcomes for wildlife, domestic animals, livestock and people?
This week, the Times is getting behind the push to find evidence of the endangered spotted-tailed quoll once common in our regions bushland but not seen here since 2007.
Find out more about Quoll Discovery at Chambers Flat in June.
The deadly Hendra virus was discovered in a paddock pony on a property at Tamborine Mountain last week, leading to a renewal of calls from the Australian Veterinary Association for owners to vaccinate their horses.
We were also recently contacted by residents at the Riemore Estate, Tamborine, about some unexpected animal guests who wandered after the flood.
And of course not all our encounters with animals are beneficial winter sees a spike in the number of insurance claims for wildlife collisions on our roads. Check out the data, it might make you slow down at dusk.
According to the RSPCA, companion animal ownership creates better physical and psychological outcomes. The benefits of a diet that includes animal protein are well known, and if endangered wildlife disappears, we will all be the poorer for it.
