“I fear they are going to “protect” the animals right into extinction.”
That is precisely the path that we are on. The people emotionally reacting to the death of an old alpha male lion are working hard to ensure the extinction of African lions.
They do not realize that is what they are doing, but it is exactly what they are doing.
So, we have to destroy the village to save it. Hmm. The 1970s called, and ...