May 1st, 2015
Pangolins Are Being Eaten to Extinction
by Alex Hallatt
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I had a reader complain about this cartoon today:
She emailed: So …the white polar bear can just go ahead and eat part of a still alive creature AND THAT’S supposed to be funny – really? I am now officially sorry that this particular strip is in my daily paper – I’m thinking there are other choices that are not quite so lame and gross – if you are trying to bring the idea that climate change is a bad thing, perhaps you want stay away from the image that a cartoon polar bear eats a part of a cartoon character while it still talks. Really? This cartoon did not impress me and did not make me laugh and made me reconsider its humor entirely. I must say, I was disappointed.
My reply:
Firstly, I’m sorry that you were offended by the pangolin cartoon.
Pangolins are critically endangered creatures because they are being eaten in real life. No-one in the west seems to care about this enough to stop it (they don’t have the power of the elephant, or rhino, or panda).
I care. I also want people to take note of what is happening. This is a cartoon and no real pangolins were hurt in its creation. But by being on the brink of offensive, it may make people think, or even act.
I’d urge you to protest about the real pangolins which are being eaten to extinction. You can join the protest here:
Many thanks for reading Arctic Circle and thank you for caring.
Alex
