It is a natural process for animal species to become extinct. There is no reason why people should try to prevent this from happening. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
It is true that extinction is a natural evolutionary process that has occurred throughout Earth’s history, such as the disappearance of dinosaurs due to natural climate shifts. However, I completely disagree with the view that humans have no reason to prevent animal extinction, as modern extinction rates are overwhelmingly driven by human activities and biodiversity loss threatens human survival itself.
First, the current wave of species extinction is far from a natural process. Scientific data shows that the present extinction rate is 100 to 1,000 times higher than the natural background rate, almost entirely caused by human actions: deforestation that destroys habitats, industrial pollution, overhunting, and human-induced climate change. For example, the baiji, or Yangtze River dolphin, was declared functionally extinct in 2006 due to overfishing, river pollution, and heavy shipping traffic in the Yangtze, rather than natural evolutionary selection. Allowing these man-made extinctions to continue is essentially taking responsibility for destroying the planet’s biodiversity.
Second, preventing animal extinction is critical to human wellbeing, as all species are interconnected within ecosystems. The loss of even one species can break food chains, disrupt ecosystem services such as pollination, water purification, and pest control, and eventually cause cascading crises for humans. A clear example is the dramatic decline of bee populations in recent decades: as key pollinators for 75% of global food crops, their extinction would lead to widespread crop failure and food shortages that directly threaten human populations.
In conclusion, while natural extinction does exist, most modern animal extinctions are human-caused, and preventing them is both an ethical responsibility and a necessary action to protect human own survival.