Urban Debate League Round 2 – Pre-release motion

The week beginning 5th March (or a week later if you’re in the regions) sees the second round of the Urban Debate League, which we like to think of as the Champions League of debating. Once again you’ll be competing against other schools in your area to try and grab the top spots of the national league table, and don’t forget that there’s still a third round to come!

Looking to the present, the second round contains two debates, the first of which has a pre-released motion, which is (drum roll please)…

THIS HOUSE WOULD STOP PROTECTING ENDANGERED SPECIES

Your mentors will be helping you prepare this motion in the next session, but here are some thoughts, ideas and facts to get you started:

Introduction:

Most countries spend large amounts of their national budget on the preservation of endangered species – this amount increases dramatically each year as animals cannot survive without conservation and become more difficult to preserve.

Generally, animals become endangered when their species begin to die because their habitat means that they cannot sustain themselves. They generally can’t survive without sustained intervention from humans.

Hundreds of species have become extinct in the modern world ranging from the Falkland Islands Wolf to the Monkey Lemur.

Key Statistics:

United States – The Endangered Species Act – knowingly harming a protected animal (Wounding, killing, farming, poaching, experimenting etc) is a crime and you can face jail or up to a $50,000 fine. In addition the government uses the Federal budget to provide research and set up conservations to protect these animals.

China – “Law on the Protection of Wildlife” – Similarly to US except the penalties for poaching and farming are harsher. China also spends billions protecting endangered animals.

UK – Bans on hunting and destroying the habitat of endangered species, as well as captive breeding programmes.

100 endangered species die every day.

Is it worth it?

No

• It’s  throwing money away because the animals will die anyway
• We have limited resources and this money could go on healthcare, education.
• It’s natural for animals to die out – we’re interfering with nature and most of them can’t survive in their nature habitat.

Yes

• Animals have the right to be protected because they are vulnerable
• We should protect things of value – animals enrich the human experience
• In many cases it isn’t their fault – e.g. Climate change.

Useful links:

• http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/23/panda-extinction-chris-packham
• http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2009/10/13/how-much-did-the-u-s-spend-in-2007-to-protect-endangered-species/
• http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/rhinoceros/rhinos.html