June 11, 2015, Prescott- I went to see the film, “Jurassic World”, this evening.  Having seen the first three films in that franchise, it was a matter of curiosity, as to what possibly could be added to them.  There are two overriding themes in this episode:  Genetic Engineering and the Arms Race.

The artificially created being, in this case, is, of course, a dinosaur- and the biggest, most ferocious ever, at that.  With regard to the Arms Race, a mercenary comes to Jurassic World, with an eye towards using velociraptors as the Ultimate Weapon.  The rest of what happens is for anyone who hasn’t seen it, to find out.

My take on any effort at bringing animals back from extinction is that they would be hard put to find a niche in a human-centered, progress-oriented world, such as ours.  The ever-shrinking animal population of the world is being expected by many, as the President of Zimbabwe once put it, “to pay their rent.”  This, of course, means the ivory, internal organs and exotic pet trade are going to be with us for some time to come, though the thing none of the purveyors of those odious practices have considered much is:  These are not renewable resources, at least not at the rate they are being depleted.

I have heard of enterprising Chinese, and others, starting game farms, with a view towards replenishing herds and prides.  The idea in many of these is strictly breeding and increasing animal populations, much as has been done with American bison in the U.S. and Canada, in the 1960’s and since.  There are others, of course, who are mercenary and keep animals around, strictly for hunting.  They are no better than poachers, who are the Slash and Burn farmers of animal husbandry, with no thought whatsoever of the future.

The television series, “Zoo”, explores the notion:  What if mammals, collectively, began taking the planet back?   It’s highly unlikely, to say the least, but it begs asking.  Do we really need to cleanse the planet of those closest to us in intelligence and spirit?