Pool-owners must protect fauna

The story of the spider on top of a toad (not a frog) on top of a box turtle (“Photo of pool survivors inspires philosophy tattoo,” The Daily Progress, Dec. 30, 2008) epitomizes the cruel impact that humans often unwittingly inflict upon the Earth’s creatures. By maintaining an uncovered swimming pool, people bring about the deaths of numerous kinds of wildlife that are attracted to the water but then can’t escape the consequences.

A swimming pool, especially in these years of recurring drought, is as much an “attractive nuisance” for wildlife as it is for children. The law insists that anyone who creates a dangerous condition on their property that is likely to attract children is under a duty to take affirmative action to protect children from that danger. In a very real moral sense, anyone who creates a dangerous condition that is likely to attract wildlife should also do his best to minimize the menace to wildlife.
Water in a swimming pool represents an irresistible lure to the many critters that need drinking water and/or a wet area in which to reproduce. A pool’s danger is hidden from wildlife because animals don’t know that pool water is chlorinated and thus will poison them, or that they may not be able to get out of the water once they are in.
This is why humans should take precautions to limit accessibility of wildlife to pools. These structures are unused most of the time, so there’s really no reason that they should not be covered most of the time.

Yes, it places a bit more effort on the homeowner. But many kinds of wildlife — the box turtle in this photo is a prime example — are disappearing due to development. Thus it should be incumbent upon homeowners to minimize, as much as possible, negative impacts that can and should be avoided.
Pool owners shouldn’t just accept that they will find “dead spiders and bugs and sometimes mice or chipmunks.” They should make the effort to prevent these unfortunate and cruel deaths.