Doug. I've read the report now. It's not possible or even desirable to go into this in lengthy detail in a thread on the virus..it wouldn't be appreciated. My issues came up with regard to to our relationship with animals/wildlife in the context of the contagion and spilled over into the history of that relationship so I'll keep it as brief as I can. Difficult but here goes.
My main point was that 'the planet could have done without humans considering the consequences and not just regarding extinctions but cruel exploitation for vanity possessions and erroneous beliefs re medicines etc.. and of course,profit. The are mink farms in Finland, bear bile farms in China (once again to supply the 'traditional Chinese medicine market') Slaughter..ongoing..of sharks for their fins for shark fin soup mainly in SE Asia..as ever.A practice banned in UK waters but the fins can be imported into the EU so here as well. Maybe that can changer now. If numbers are to be believed 100 million a year. Since 2011 an 80% drop in consumption in China as a result of campaigns.There're an essential part of the oceans' ecosystem...not to mention the utter cruelty of cutting off fins of live sharks leaving them to bleed to death in the oceans. The illegal trade in exotic creatures in general.The clubbing to death of seal pups in Canada to service what can be called the 'vanity trade'. Silk worms are boiled alive,their skin used for silk cloth. What else. Seals-Rabbits (for Angora wool)-Foxes-(pelts,scarves etc) endangered Tibetan Chiru for their fur..it's illegal but there's a thriving black market. The wool is called shahtoosh. Re domestic animals .In some places lambs killed in the womb to supposedly get very soft wool called karakulIt, minks, beavers,cats and dogs. The once thriving feather trade..it goes on and on.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-two-women-ended-the-deadly-feather-trade-23187277/
Re. your link. Patrick Moore Ph.D states in his article.....and this is what I was referring to.
"Human-caused extinction began in earnest when our ancesters went out of Africa and colonised other lands. Australia 60,000 years ago.The New World 15,000 years ago,New Zealand 1200 years ago all islands colonised by Europeans from 1500 years ago.
Causes: Over hunting for food, Purposeful eradication of pests..ie the Passenger pigeon,(this was in 1914 and was a wake up call to the public regarding the extinctions being caused) The Carolinian Parakeet and the mastodom amongst others. In addition, the introduction of predators such as rats, cats, foxes and snakes causing the greatest extinction especially on islands. {successful eradication programmes are redressing this issue. Eg eradication of rats that ate birds eggs and chicks}
Massive clearance of native eco-systems for food and fibre. Clearance for corn production for bio-fuel (green fuel) and palm oil...de-forestation. ( my addition..Decimation of populations orangutans in Indonesia comes to mind)
I checked on who the author is ,always a good idea..and found these articles about who he is and refuting his claims.
https://www.desmogblog.com/patrick-moore
https://ipbes.net/news/million-threatened-species-thirteen-questions-answers
I do appreciate that there are many good people trying to get the above traditions and practices stopped,including legal cruel and abhorrent 'sporting traditions' such as bullfighting...Spain,Portugal and SW France. There are also those involved in bringing species back from the brink including some zoos involved in endangered species programmes.
I need a break..lol. Have some photos to post which is why I joined..