I read an interesting article from the Chicago Tribune published on Jan. 30th, 2010 that talked about a current "man vs. nature" conflict. It involved the fishing industry in California and the endangered species of sea otters.
While the population of living sea otters were being diminished by fur trade, the supply of shellfish, mussels, and snails grew and helped fishing companies evolve into $10 million industries that supplied seafood to many restaurants and fish markets. After the protection sea otters received by being declared an endangered species in 1977 under the Endangered Species Act, their population has grown and a group of sea otters have made their way to the waters of California to call home. Because of the otters' diet, the supply that the fishing companies rely on has declined and has brought down companies' profits. There have been attempts made to relocate the sea otters to an artificial habitat on a distant island, but the otters seem to dislike their forced home and return to what has been called the "no-otter zone" where fishermen call dibs on the sea creatures that otters feast on. Companies are complaining that "giving the critters free rein will jeopardize their industry." (www.chicagotribune.com/topic/sns-ap-us-otter-recovery)
So the question is, who's side would Locke take in this case: the fishing companies or the sea otters?! Who should rightfully get first dibs on the supply? I think this debate can go either way. The sea otters have a legal advantage in which the fishermen cannot touch the otters because they are endangered and because of the fact that they are endangered, the sea otters shouldn't be denied access to the food that they need to survive. However, according to Locke, sea creatures would be considered a part of nature, that which is common. Therefore, fishing companies have the right to take the shellfish, mussels, and any other sea creatures and "prepare" them to be sold to restaurants and to people. We have discussed Locke's theories in the terms of people vs. people, but does that apply to cases where it's people vs. animals with legal rights?