“The attitude of the average person to the world they live in is completely selfish.”

—  Gerald Durrell

Two in the Bush (1966)
Context: The attitude of the average person to the world they live in is completely selfish. When I take people round to see my animals, one of the first questions they ask (unless the animal is cute and appealing) is, "what use is it?" by which they mean, "what use is it to them?" To this one can reply "What use is the Acropolis?" Does a creature have to be of direct material use to mankind in order to exist? By and large, by asking the question "what use is it?" you are asking the animal to justify its existence without having justified your own.

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Gerald Durrell 38
naturalist, zookeeper, conservationist, author and televisi… 1925–1995

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