Thought of the Day is a new addition to my blog, where I hope to highlight some of the current and pertinent issues within the world of wildlife, in a condensed format. I hope the topics will stimulate discussions and an exchange of ideas. Don’t hesitate to let me know your views. Here’s today’s musing…

There is relatively little financial reward for working in the wildlife sector, when compared to so many other professions. I’m struggling to think of another sphere of work that is so underfunded, underpaid and generally overlooked by government. You just never get the impression that wildlife conservation is a priority for many governments worldwide, and the pay and resources available to wildlife charities and other organisations reflects that. More often than not, supported by countless unpaid volunteers, but very few paid positions and even fewer adequately paid posts.

For example, rangers tackling the poaching crisis across our planet generally speaking get very little financial reward for placing their lives in danger each day. There is no ‘bankers’ bonus’ for conducting painstaking – sometimes lifelong – research and conservation work in often environmentally and politically adverse locations, that can result in saving a species or entire ecosystem from extinction. I know of no other sector where you have to do so much for so little reward. But then again, the average conservationist’s moral compass functions a lot better than the average banker’s.