Despite the protests of animal activists, livestock production is both practical and ethical, according to a retired wildlife zoologist from UC Davis, who refers to himself as an animal welfarist. "Approximately 7 billion livestock and other domestic animals, which are all genetically different from their wild ancestors, are born annually, most living lives that are free of nature's cruel brutality," says Walter E. Howard, a professor emeritus of wildlife and fisheries biology. "As meat eaters, humans are simply a necessary part of nature's food chain, which operates on the basis of the survival of the fittest," says Howard. During his 44-year career, Howard studied the ecology, behavior, population dynamics and control of wildlife, particularly rodents, coyotes and other wild vertebrates. In retirement he has become an outspoken advocate of what he calls the "moral and ethical rights of humans" to utilize animals for food and game, research and recreation. He maintains that only the human species shows compassion and pity for its prey, consequently animals meet a gentler end at the hands of most humans than they would if left to live and die according to the laws of nature. Howard will speak on "Wildlife and Animal Rights as a Barrier to Meat Production from Forage" during an afternoon symposium titled "Avoiding Meat Shortages," Monday, Feb.10, in Columbus H.