People and Animals --
An Ancient Relationship

Current theory strongly suggests that our symbiotic relationship with animals is the result of natural selection, and that this relationship is mutually beneficial.

Scientists believe that the domestication of animals began over twelve thousand years ago, when wolves began to gravitate to the campfires, which warmed ancient man. Instinctively, the animals recognized that associating with people increased their chances of survival, ultimately enhancing their ability to reproduce. Their food supply was assured, so they didn't have to compete with other hunters to eat. The campfires kept them warm, reducing their own need to expend energy for that purpose. Additionally, man protected them from savage attacks by other predators.

Decades ago, scientific theory suggested that man "tamed" animals. Modern experts now theorize that domestication was really an inevitable natural process that thrived because it was of benefit to both human and animal species. The proof, according to archaeologists, can be found in the successful survival of countless domesticated species from ancient to modern times.

While some people believe that humans have no right to use animals for any purpose, current theory strongly suggests that our symbiotic relationship with animals is the result of natural selection and that relationship is mutually beneficial.

As writer Stephen Budiansky observed, "Some remarkable and beautiful forces of nature were at work in producing the interdependence of man and animals, an interdependence that has eliminated much of the suffering and brutality of the wild."*

Domesticated animals now look much different, and have different needs, from their wild counterparts. Over thousands of years, those animals have become the tamer and more dependent creatures we care for on farms throughout Minnesota and the nation.

* "The Ancient Contract," U.S. News and World Report, March 20, 1989, p. 79.