很多动物濒临灭亡。有人说我们应该仅仅维护对人类有用的动物。同意反对？

这是一道观点类大作文。题目很贴近生活，毕竟从小到大的教育都是告诉我们，要护卫“濒危动物”、护卫大自然。所以很多同学看到题目首先都是觉得要反对，但是却一下子写不好理由，毕竟不能写“从小教育我们都要护卫”。

这套题目的逻辑错误在于题目观点中前提站不住脚：题目中是否要护卫动物的依据，是useful to humans；而所谓的“对人类有用“的表述并无一个标准，这个“有用与否“取决于很多因素，如某动物的特定功能，以及某个人类群体的具体需求，所以不能以一个无法界定的概念来作为是否执行某个行为的依据。

举例来说，狼这个动物，对于牧民来说是具有威胁性的，因为它会对牛羊等家畜造成伤害。但是对于草原的生态来说，狼是非常必要的，它能控制食草类动物的数量，防止其过度损坏植被。因此为了维护生态平衡、护卫生物的多样性，例如狼及其它濒危动物也是需要受到护卫的，哪怕它看上去对人没有用。

It is true that many wildlife groups are on the verge of distinction today. While there is an assertion that only those which are useful to humans deserve preservation, I will say it is unreasonable to judge the justification of any animals from a utilitarian lens.

There seems to be reasons as to why wildlife protection policy should hinge on the benefits of human beings. In a world dominated by utilitarianism, the status of extinctive species is judged by their practical value to humans, whether it be food, clothes or medicine. Based on this, politicians or businessmen are prone to subsidize environmental programs that can either win them voters or bring profits. To complicate matters even more, the populace would also consider it worthless if they can’t see any merits to their lives from the protection of certain species. Given these, it is widely accepted that animal protection should be subject to their value to humanity.

While the utilitarian view on wildlife conservation does seem plausible, it is difficult for me to see the statement as anything other than an illogical conclusion based on questionable premise – Those advocates of utilitarianism are oblivious to the ambiguity of the term ‘useful to humans’, which is a variable concept subject to various factors, such as the attributes of specific species, and their relevance to disparate demands of humans. In this respect, the discussion can then move on to handle questions as to which features of endangered animals are more desirable in the local context and what local stakeholders value more; the same animal that is of significance to some people may be totally repulsive to others. One convincing example can be seen in people’s controversy over the protection of wolves: while considered a key threat to animal husbandry, wolves also play an indispensable role in ecological balance to biologists.  

From what has been discussed above, I don’t believe it is justified to refer to the usefulness of animals to human beings as a criterion of wildlife protection.  

On the verge  在……边缘  

Utilitarian  实用的  

Utilitarianism  实用主义  

Subsidize  资助  

Conservation    

Ambiguity  模糊  

ecological balance  生态平衡