Speciesism on the Shore

Jul 27, 2020

"It takes nothing away from a human to be kind to an animal."
-Joaquin Phoenix

The Florida coast is a beautiful place to live, but it's also home to rampant speciesism, most prominent in our interaction with seashore animals. The shore is a strange mix of peaceful bliss and destructive hatred, an oasis for the most dedicated speciesists. Let's take a look at how speciesism rears its ugly head on the coast.

Birds

Our relationship with seagulls is complicated. On one hand, we love watching them fly around on the beach, but anywhere else, they're basically considered the coastline equivalent of pigeons: messy and annoying. But trust me, we wholeheartedly adore all the other birds. There have even been suggestions that dogs shouldn't be allowed on the beach because they disturb the birds...despite the fact that even just allowing humans on the beach disturbs them. What about kids who run up to them and scare them away? And the cars, trucks, fishers, and thousands of humans taking up all the sand in the summertime? Maybe if we truly cared about disturbing the birds, we shouldn't allow anyone on the beach ever.

Many pre-vegans find connecting with chickens and turkeys particularly difficult because they're birds and are therefore more unlike us than pigs and cows. But really, humans love birds. We have bird feeders and birdbaths in our yards, we go bird-watching, we keep birds as companion animals, we feed pigeons and other urban birds, we visit rainforests to admire the exotic species, and we walk side-by-side birds on the shore. It is only when it comes to eating certain types of birds that we have such disregard for them. And as chickens are one of the most exploited species on the planet, second only to wild-caught fishes, you can be sure that all the people defending birds on the shore or with paintings of birds on their walls also have bird corpses in their fridges.

Marine Life

Shrimp are one of the most exploited oceanic animals. The industry here is huge, and we often see shrimping ships off the coast on morning beach walks and their lights passing by in the dark. On New Year's Eve, they drop a giant light-up shrimp at midnight at the port, and there's an annual shrimp festival to celebrate the shrimping industry with a parade and everything. (Seriously, people are obsessed with killing shrimp here.)

Fishers often buy large packages of dead shrimp to use as bait, then throw out whoever they don't use onto the shore for the birds to eat. Because they're so cheap that it's not worth it to save them for next time.

And there are always people out fishing on the beach; they smoke, drink, eat, and litter (though, to be fair, that's basically what most people do while on the beach). They smile as my dog walks past them, enamored by her intense drive to catch up to the seagull hunting for little crabs in the sand 20 yards ahead. But then they drag helpless fishes up to the shore, throw them in a cooler full of ice so they die in possibly the most excruciating method possible: both asphyxiating and freezing for as long as 30 minutes before their bodies finally shut down. But who cares? They're just some stupid fish, right? And even the birds, the birds we supposedly love, are drawn to the rotting bait and prior catches, risking the potential of getting tangled in the lines or hooked as they dive into the water.

Litter Bugs

Humans are filthy, and we really like to spread that filth around. Even on some of the most well-kept beaches, there will always be garbage. And while some of it is easy for do-gooders to pick up and dispose of--like empty water bottles and forgotten flip flops--there is always more. And if you are going to bring things onto the beach, for the love of all that is holy, never, ever, ever bring plastic confetti or glitter; because if you're going to litter, it should at least be made from paper, not something that will literally never go away and is responsible for the destruction of the oceanic ecosystem. I'm not sure who in their right mind would actually bring glitter onto a beach, but I've seen it.

Again, birds are constantly hunting in the sand for little critters to gobble up, and they're at risk for ingesting plastic trash on the beach. Maybe a little glitter won't hurt them, but as it washes out into the waves, it certainly will impact smaller animals that are already overeating microplastics and devastating the aquatic ecosystem through plastic bioaccumulation.

Washed Ashore

I've seen dead fishes, many dead jellyfishes, dead crabs and other crustaceans, a dead baby shark, and even a dead armadillo on the beach. But people don't care so much about these creatures; it's more of an obstacle course-style nuisance to have to weave your way around the bodies while walking. Though I won't claim to stop and mourn or bury animals when I pass them, it does dishearten me that we've become so accustomed to seeing dead animals on the shore that it isn't any cause for distress. And it's only when more beloved animals die--generally mammals like whales and dolphins--that people actually become upset, regardless of the cause of death.

The Golden Child

In contrast, we have task forces here to ensure the survival and protection of sea turtles. The momma turtles come up to shore at night to lay their eggs, so every morning at dawn from when the nests are created until all the babies have hatched, volunteers go on patrol along the entire coastline to mark off the nests so they won't be disturbed by humans. In some areas, they even take an egg from each individual nest for research purposes, aborting what could've been a baby turtle. (Seems counterintuitive when the point of all this is to protect endangered species.) But these same people also are mostly (if not entirely) not vegan, meaning that they support the agriculture and aquaculture industries that are wreaking havoc on the oceanic ecosystem and are responsible for the destruction of natural sea turtle populations. Each time they go to the grocery store and buy a fish product, they are responsible for more turtle deaths than they ever save through their activism.

Horses

Around here, there is a company that brings trailers of horses to and from the beach throughout the day for tourists to ride them. Horseback riding is basically the animal exploitation equivalent of segways for people who want to be in nature but don't want to exercise. Many people would say that the horses enjoy it, but I never knew it was possible for humans to understand neighs and whinnies. Since when have human beings been able to translate horse language? Because I'd sure be interested in learning.

Horses may want to be outside, but they want to be in a grassy field, not on a sandy beach with no access to drinkable water or food, passing by unfamiliar people, loud vehicles, and whizzing bicycles that could easily startle them, lugging around some lazy humans. (They are, after all, prey animals and would instinctively flee from such an uncomfortable and potentially dangerous situation.) I'm sure that if it were up to them, they'd prefer to live in peace far, far away from humans.

You may also say that humans have been riding horses for centuries; this is just a natural mode of transportation for us. Maybe it was necessary in the past to traverse long distances before cars or trains or planes existed, but we're not living in the past. Regardless of the necessity of it, that still doesn't make it ethical. Horseback riding today is purely for entertainment or sport, neither of which is an acceptable or justifiable excuse.

Protected Areas

By all the beaches, there are protected dunes home to many critters, but none are more protected than gopher tortoises. As they are endangered, the public is collectively on the lookout for these guys to ensure they don't accidentally put themselves in harm's way. Primarily, if you see one crossing the road, you are responsible to stop, pick them up, and safely transfer them to the other side. Though this will stop traffic in both directions, generally no one minds because you're doing the right thing. When a tortoise is killed by a car, people have even erected crosses on the side of the road to memorialize their death and to warn other motorists to watch out for them. If only they had the same adoration for other animals.

be conscious, be kind, be vegan