'Domesticated' Animals Not More Valuable Than Free-range Wildlife, Proprietary ('Commercial') Software Isn't Better Than Free Software
Lately we've had to do some activism/advocacy for birds, seeing that local authorities don't like birds or only pretend to like birds. They try to associate them with "pests" or blame them for "vermin".
Some time ago they started fining people for feeding birds in the 'wrong' area (they equate the feeding with "littering") and dog owners - the types who have the luxury of sending their dogs to "daycare" [1, 2] (spending all day working hard and barely seeing their pets at all) - receive special treatment. Don't get me wrong, my wife and I both grew up with many dogs (maybe half a dozen each) and we like dogs, it's just that birds are not considered "owned" and therefore neglect of creatures in the sky (they're not "big business") can become more 'normalised'.
This ought to change. It's not just about chirping and presence of biodiversity; it's about empathy.
I wasn't always interested in birds and as a child I wasn't particularly kind to them. There's a stigma associated with pensioners, saying they come to appreciate nature a lot more and sometimes become birdwatchers. For us, it's more than birdwatching, we've become activists for them.
There's an analogy here: Software.
See, the proprietary software giants (companies like SAP or Microsoft) have a lot of lobbyists and budget allocated to bribing influencing decision-makers, including elected politicians. We're meant to think Free software is scary and must be harshly regulated (for security, liability etc.) whereas GAFAM can control everything, everywhere. They run commercials and advertise themselves as inclusive while in practice working for jackboots.
It's a matter of perspective. See, Free software is actually a lot safer (from a national security perspective). Likewise, wildlife causes a lot less pollution than house animals, it's just that we're meant to think of dog and cat food factories as a thing of non-existence. All those metal cans, transpiration, pollution associated with production, "meat-farming" etc. That's just "Big Meat" industry; they have their own lobbyists.
The overall 'footprint' (environmental and more) - not just the overall cost - of fostering wildlife is vastly lower than domesticated fauna, and the same goes for Free software versus proprietary nonsense, which compensates for inferiority with bribes, cheating, and all sorts of underhanded tactics. █