The total number of species known to be threatened stands at 16,938 according to Endangered Species International. Of the 44,838 species assessed using the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List criteria, 16,928 are listed as threatened with extinction, with millions of species still yet to be assessed. As a result, the number of threatened species is definitely much higher than the current estimate. Threatened species are those listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable.
According to Wikipedia, A vulnerable species is a species which is likely to become endangered unless the circumstances threatening its survival and reproduction improve. An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters. Organisms with a conservation status of critically endangered have an extremely high risk of becoming extinct in the wild or completely extinct in the immediate future.
With so many species of animals threatened today, why are the animal rights protest groups screaming about Canada’s seal hunt? The Canadian harp seal is one of the most abundant animals on the planet. According to the Canadian Government Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Canadian harp seal is listed as “least concerned”. Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, nor Near Threatened. Many common species such as the Pigeon are assigned the Least Concern category. The harp seal population is healthy and abundant. The Northwest Atlantic harp seal population is currently estimated at 5.6 million animals, nearly triple the population seen in the 1970s, and has been at that level for the past ten years.
