FriendBurst Blog

There’s a little black-bellied hamster
in France that’s counting on one man in its fight for survival. Known
as the Great Hamster of Alsace, this little guy’s numbers have dropped
from about 4,000 in 1979 to less than 500 in 2010, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The reason for its decline: Greed — it’s simply more profitable to
grow corn that, once harvested at the conclusion of its short growing
season, quickly exposes the hamster to predators, than it is to grow
other tall crops like alfalfa and wheat that provide cover for longer
periods of time.

I’ve got a soft spot for hamsters. I remember
years ago when I took a job outside New Orleans that entailed moving
cross country. I was forced to leave my family for a few months so that
the house could be sold. I remember the long drive and how sad I was to
be leaving everyone, even if just for a short time. What sticks in my
mind, however, is that as soon as I arrived at my new home, I received a
phone call from my young daughter. She was beside herself with grief as
she cried to me that her hamster had suddenly died. I was powerless to
help and tried to console her from a distance as best I could. Despite
what some people think, these are the moments that stick in a father’s
mind.

Jean-Paul Burget loves hamsters, too. He must, because he’s
spent years fighting for their survival. Despite the fact that the
Great Hamster of Alsace, whose scientific name is Cricetus cricetus, can
be found under different names throughout Europe and all the way into Russia, Mr. Burget considers Alsace, on the eastern edge of France, this hamster’s true home.

In
his fight to persuade French farmers to grow more protective crops and
less corn, Mr. Burget is waging battle within the European Court of
Justice using a 1992 endangered species law as his weapon of choice. The
Great Hamster of Alsace, argues Mr. Burget, should be protected under
that law. The court is scheduled to issue its final ruling on the matter in April and,
if found guilty of allowing the hamster population to decline to
dangerously low levels, the government of France could face fines of up
to €68,000 for each hamster found living in the fields of the city of
Strasbourg, according to The Independent.

At
issue here is not only the fate of our little French friend, but how
much autonomy should be given to governments when decisions are made
that impact environmental and wildlife goals.
Indeed, while the fortunes of the Great Hamster of Alsace depend much
upon the ruling of the Court, the fates of untold species of animals may
well hang precariously in the balance between the quest for profit and
the imposition of humanity.