From my work as curator at the Brisbane Zoo, it is becoming increasingly obvious to me that the animal world is a highly endangered one.
It sometimes seems as though a new species is added to the endangered list every day, and a great deal of this is due to human activity.
You may have read about the orange-bellied parrot colonies in South Australia.
These are under threat from wind farms.
So even our attempts to save energy can have a negative impact.
A further example is provided by the expansion of our cities.
Here in Australia, many species of frog are losing their habitat as a direct result of this urban development.
What's more, thanks to the increasing use of pesticides, fewer insects are surviving.
Many species depend upon these as a food source, birds in particular, and so their numbers are declining as well.
So even in rural areas, we are having a damaging effect on species.
In fact, when our farmers choose to grow large amounts of one staple crop each year, corn is a perfect example, this often results in the greater need for chemicals and fertilisers, which has a devastating effect on local wildlife.
Clearly, something needs to be done about this.
However, very little can be achieved without full public support, and our general attitude is not always a positive one.
Of course, it is easy to get people interested in animals such as the panda.
Thanks to the attention it has given in the media, people are very aware of its plight, and so are willing to give a great deal of support.
However, it is not so easy to attract sympathy for those essential smaller species, such as insects.
They may seem insignificant, but these tiny creatures have an enormous effect on our ecosystem.
And it isn't only size that is a problem when it comes to our attitude towards animals.
There are certain animals that we would prefer to simply ignore for various reasons.
Firstly, we might do this because of fear.
That is the normal reaction when people see a shark or a snake, for example.
Another reason might be that we believe that certain animals are rivals when it comes to food.
Locusts and even mice could come into this category.
Then there are animals that we view with disgust because of how they look or feel.
The many different parasites, for example.
You may well ask, what does it matter if any of these species dies?
Extinction is a fact of life, after all.
I would argue that there are several reasons to be concerned about the extinction of any species.
Each species helps us to understand more about how our ecosystem works.
One species can be linked to many others in the food chain, for example.
And, inevitably, they all lead back to us in some way.
We now know that the more complex the ecosystem is, the more stable it is.
When this is the case, large numbers of one animal are quickly controlled by outbreaks of its predators.
We've also begun to realise that the presence or absence of certain plants can alert us to changes in our environment.
One type of plant might indicate the presence of rich mineral deposits.
Another might alert us to toxic water.
And so even seemingly insignificant species can be helpful and beneficial to us.
This is especially true in the area of medicine.
There are many well-documented cases of the health benefits of pet ownership, especially with the ill or the handicapped.
But not many people know that spiders are also being used in medicine.
The cobwebs they make can be used to assist with certain blood disorders.
It actually helps blood to clot.
Imagine how much more there is for us still to discover from plants and animals.
But we can only do this if we can save these creatures from extinction.
Perhaps, in the end, it is our self-interest that will save the animals.
