I think it’s not fair to the universe that people are wasting so many resources — like sharks. Did you know that people have killed 90 percent of the shark population in the last 60 years? And not only that, but people kill sharks just for fin soup.

I think that people shouldn’t be allowed to hunt unless they use every part of the animal, or at least every part that they can use. You may think hunting is fun — or even necessary for food — but what will happen when there is nothing left to hunt? I wish you’d just play something else, instead of wasting the world’s resources. Maybe you’d then be able to connect with the world more.   

When you kill an animal and throw most of it away, it’s like killing a part of yourself; a part of your heart chips away. You’re an animal, too — you have the same kind of relationship with the world as an animal, even if you don’t feel that right now.  

Do a favor for the world — use all of the animal for food, clothing and other stuff. You might feel a warm glow inside of you. That’s your body telling you that you did a good job. And that warm glow will keep inside of you — that’s the world giving you a favor in return: the pleasure of knowing you did a good job. That’s the feeling of peace.    

Don’t let the world begin to disregard you. You see, your body is just like the Earth. It tells you when there’s trouble; it tells you when there’s harm, and it tells you when there’s peace. How will you respond to that voice in you?  

— Anelaya Hinden-Stevenson, 8 years old