A recently published report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Zoological Society of London has found that the world is on track to losing 67% of animal populations. This number is based on data collected between 1970 and 2012, where the world’s animal populations plummeted by 58%. Researchers have found that animals are facing vast declines because of hunting, pollution and the destruction of wild habitats.
 
To measure the changes of animal populations, researchers looked at over 14,000 monitored populations out of the 3,700 vertebrate species with good accessible data. They analysed the changing abundance of the populations from this data set, and from there they used a measure to predict the overall state of the Earth’s 64,000 animal species. Their findings revealed the sorry state of wildlife around the globe, and unfortunately, humans are to blame.
 
Human Impacts on Animal Populations
The vast majority of the Earth’s waterways and land masses have been negatively impacted by humans. Only 15% of land areas are protected, while the rest of the Earth is subject to unsustainable fishing, hunting, poaching, farming and logging. Recent research has also found that these industries and the destruction of wild areas is causing more than 300 mammal species to face near extinction.
 
Another problem that wildlife populations face is pollution. Long-lived industrial pollutants in European seas are harming killer whales and dolphins. According to WWF’s director of science, Mike Barrett, rivers and lakes are hit the hardest in terms of habitat destruction. Because of manmade dams, pollution and excessive water extraction, animal populations have decreased by 81% since 1970. Climate change also comes into play because unpredictable weather patterns can also shift ecosystem dynamics and the habitats which animals are able to live. 
 
Humans also impact animal populations by using unsustainable farming practices and taking part in the pet trade. In South East Asia the vulture population has been in decline over the last 20 years due to the ingestion of anti-inflammatory drugs used on cattle. These drugs cause vultures to die when they eat the cattle carcasses. Amphibians are said to face one of the greatest declines because of fungal disease. The spread of the diseases affecting amphibians may be linked to the world trade in frogs and newts.
 
The Need for Change
According to Barrett, the world needs systemtic change to address the overall losses of animals and habitats. Often people are unaware of the threats animals face, even within their local ecosystems. It’s important to raise awareness on these issues to help kickstart a shift in consciousness. To help preserve the world’s wildlife, society needs to change how it consumes resources. On an individual level people can choose to buy sustainably farmed or wild caught food instead of supporting large-scale farms that harm the land and animals with chemical fertilizers, pesticides and hormones.
 
It’s also important to push for the protection of animals and their habitats to ensure the sustained growth of their populations. For instance, the Eurasian lynx was put under protection from hunting, and since the 1960s their population has risen fivefold.