Karma and the Spotted Lanternfly

This is something I've been pondering in my meditation for a few weeks now and have not reached any conclusive view on. Apologies for formatting etc etc.

I live in central Pennsylvania, and a nearby part of the state that I visit on a regular basis has been overtaken by an invasive insect known as the Spotted Lanternfly. These beings were accidentally introduced from China and have flourished in my state in the absence of any natural predators. In short, they devour various crops such as hops and some fruit trees, and no native species feed on them. The state government has instructed residents to kill off any lanternflies they see and to destroy any egg masses they find. I so far have elected to keep the precepts in the way I understand them and have refrained from intentionally killing or injuring any member of this species, and therein lies my question: from the perspective of the Dhamma, is it better to keep the precepts in this way, even though keeping them contributes to the suffering of farmers whose crops and livelihoods are being destroyed?

submitted by /u/mei9
[link] [comments]

from Buddhism https://ift.tt/2N6fC1p