Deadly appetite: 10 animals we are eating into extinction

There are many animals that are in far greater peril, according to David Macdonald of the University of Oxford, who reported in 2016 that our culinary habits threaten 301 land mammal species alone with extinction.

DALE BERNING SAWA: ‘If there is a single dish that has come to symbolise humans’ willingness to eat other animals out of existence, it is the ortolan bunting. Traditionally, you devour this diminutive songbird, prized since Roman times, whole, in one fell bite, your head hidden under a napkin to hide your shame from God (although, drowned in armagnac and deep-fried, this “delicacy” is also just plain messy).

In France, where hunting ortolans has been banned since 1999, 30,000 birds are still trapped every year, according to the RSPB; they are said to fetch up to €150 (£130) apiece. Despite conservation efforts, ortolan numbers dropped by 84% between 1980 and 2012.

Yet the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the ortolan as “a species of least concern”. There are many animals that are in far greater peril, according to Prof David Macdonald of the University of Oxford, who reported in 2016 that our culinary habits threaten 301 land mammal species alone with extinction.

Here are 10 of the creatures that are most at risk, based on Macdonald’s study, guidance from the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), the IUCN’s red list of endangered species and the Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) Edge of Existence conservation programme’. SOURCE…

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