Galwegians will dress in black this weekend in Salthill as part of a global day of mourning.
But this day of remembrance won’t be about war or peace or even humans. Those in attendance will mourn the the species that have gone the way of the dodo and the passenger pigeon – extinction.
Similar rallies will take place in cities across the world in what is a global call to action on Saturday 17 November.
The rally aims to shine a light on the negative path we are currently taking as a planet, and some organisers believe that unless the we wake up to the realities of climate change, we too could soon be on the road to extinction.
In the last fifty years, humans have managed to wipe out over 60% of all mammals, fish, birds and reptiles. That’s 60% of all animal life gone forever, since 1970.
Pauline O’Reilly of the Green Party in Galway West said that our extinction crisis and climate catastrophe go beyond simple tragedy.
“They present a threat to civilisation itself,” she said. “We can’t just stand by and do nothing as extinctions multiply and the climate goes haywire, leading to human and animal suffering.”
She said that attendees are ‘invited to wear black in mourning for those species who have joined the dodo by being wiped from this Earth’.
“This will be a welcoming and family friendly event, so feel free to bring kids, dogs – anyone who cares about life on earth!” she added.
The event
