Of course, a moral argument of the

Of course, a moral argument of the kind offered in this book is unlikely all on its own to convince the unpersuaded. Notwithstanding the points made above about the prevalence across time and space of human beings’ receptivity to the idea of moral obligations of some sort towards the non-human, the present situation is one which requires that receptivity to be deepened, extended and located within a basic understanding of what 6 billion and more human beings are in the course of doing to the planet. Although the claims made on this issue are the subject of ongoing controversy, one might expect that the prima facie importance of the issues would lead to at least an interest on the part of an informed public. Many, of course, are so interested. Many, however, are not, or not to any significant degree. The following passage from a recent volume devoted to conservation management makes sobering reading in this regard: