You probably already know the story of Canadian human Emma Czornobaj. In the Superior Court of Quebec on Friday she was found guilty of causing the death of two other humans after they crashed into her car on a highway. The good samaritan had parked her car on the highway to help a group of ducklings on the side of the road.
Her pre-sentence hearing is on August 8.
I have some personal experience of this, not involving humans, but two other species. I had just relocated a worm sitting on the grass to save it from impending doom, when a bird swooped down to claim its newly-positioned prey. While the situation is different the result was the same: unplanned accidental deaths as the consequence of good intentions, where one species is attempting to help another.
And so back to the ducklings. The human made a choice to help them to safety, and in doing so placed other humans at risk. The response? In a grotesque act of speciesism, her human peers have ruled that her actions in not placing the safety of her own species above the safety of other species are criminal, and she may be imprisoned for up to 14 years as a result. In lauding the outcome, the prosecutor said: “What we hope is that a clear message is sent to society that we do not stop on the highway for animals. It’s not worth it.”
What if she had done nothing, and as a result one or more ducklings were run over by a car and killed? Would that human driver be answering to an angry jury of ducks? No, I suggest there would be no consequence for that human. There are no species other than humans who are so vengeful.
