Shared Earth is a series from the Â鶹ԼÅÄ Natural History Unit which celebrates the natural world and explores what we can all do to help conserve wildlife and habitats and reduce our footprint on the planet
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There are some animals that seem to have a reputation for being little more than animate vegetables and fish and battery hens are among them.Ìý But both these animals have complex and intricate lives that we are only just beginning to understand. It is obvious that our society treats animals very differently depending on its use and this split behaviour is enshrined in our law.
For example, the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth is training a hump head wrasse (called Bentley) to get used to people being in close proximity to him so that he can be examined without stressing him out. The training programme is a graduated exposure to people hopefully resulting in divers being able to get into the pool with Bentley and actually touch him.
The programme is going well and shows that fish are able to learn and adapt like many other animals. Lots of time and money are being spent on training Bentley, but not all creatures get such attention.
There are 20 million battery hens in cages today and their lives are a misery, they can’t move or show any natural behaviour. Fortunately the present intensive system will be obsolete from 2012, but do we really apply care and attention to animals for food?
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Healing Nature
People need a good environment to thrive in too and Alderhay Hospital in Liverpool is restoring an adjacent bluebell wood so that patients and staff alike can get the benefits of the open air and the ambience of a real woodland. Working in conjunction with the local Wildlife Trusts the hospital is planning all kinds of healthy walks, information boards, sculptures etc which they hope will aid recovery and provide a place of peace for busy hospital workers.
Cod
Cod are one of those well known fish that are famous as a Friday take-away rather than interesting animals in their own right. World on the Move is following cod as they migrate to their spawning grounds in Norway and sound recordist Chris Watson went to hear the noises they make when trying to attract a partner.
