Alien Species

[JamesAnthony]

Hello folks! First of all I'm sorry if this is a repeated topic but I could not find anything similar to this on the forum. I was reading a post about the badger cull and it got me thinking. In the south east of England there is an estimated 30,000 parakeets living wild see a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4P_NhFlb5w
These animals are in danger of being culled themselves it mentions it at the end of the video what is your opinion on the management of alien species in your nation? Should we accept these creatures or work to maintain our wildlife?
Its more than just Parakeets. Skunks, Wallaby's, Pheasants and even the rumoured big cat are all living in Britain. So should we accept these creatures or cull them should we need to? Certain animals particularly the Boar and Parakeet are very damaging to the environment boars churn up fields more than the Glastonbury festival and parakeets can be extremely destructive in their own right. This is of course a global issue with Australia with its rabbit problem and parts of the US with pet snakes being a huge issue and I'm sure there are many more examples.

So what's your opinion on this controversial issue?

[Aphritha]

That's a tough one. I couldn't say I'd be okay with taking out a species in a specific area because it wasn't native...who's humanity to say what goes where? And should it end up in a place designated not for it, who are we to take its life away simply for the purpose of it not being there? If its destructive, maybe trying to limit reproduction if at all possible. Though I suppose all things in the world change...sometimes not the way we want.

[ShadowCat]

Humanity itself isn't a native species in parts of the world... And the world could do with a humanity cull IMHO

Part of the problem with the deer and boars in the UK would be mitigated if the wolves where imported back in. The lacking of predators is most often the problems. And predator and prey balance themselves out. With the parakeets, don't the big birds hunt them?
If we as humanity messed some natural equilibrium up, either by importing a species or by disrupting the chain of predation by taking out predators, we have a duty to make it right. But righting it can be done in many ways, from merely monitoring the way in which nature in the end will right itself, to assuming the rol of the lost predator (hunting) to repairing the actual damage by importing back the predators. Most often, the latter is considered the best, but it must also be done wisely, otherwise it will create new problems.

[Corwen]

Depends on the impact of the species. Some fill an empty niche and don't cause any problems, maybe the parakeets are in this case. Others, like Japanese Knotweed are vigorous and out compete natives.

[samurai]

Mink,are an allien to these shores and do alot of damage,especially to the water vole population.

[Mystical Journey]

Maybe I am naive but can't the "non-native" animals be moved to somewhere where they would be able to live naturally... maybe to an area where they belong, a place where their species of native?

[samurai]

In the case of mink that would be the USA,but the amount of them here in the UK is very high and they would take some catching in numbers as they travel our extensive waterways.

[Corwen]

Maybe I am naive but can't the "non-native" animals be moved to somewhere where they would be able to live naturally... maybe to an area where they belong, a place where their species of native?

Impossible to catch them. In most cases impossible to exterminate them too, though extermination through shooting, trapping or poisoning is easier than catching animals alive.

Like the Mink in the UK which do huge damage to wildlife but they are wily and shy and thus hard to catch or kill. Some idiots who consider themselves campaigners for animal rights let hundreds of mink out of a fur farm near here and so we have lots of wild mink about and therefore fewer rare waterbirds. Lots of one legged ducks, geese and swans too, the mink like to swim under the water and grab a bird by the leg to drown it, sometimes the birds get away leaving a leg behind. They would have been better to have humanely killed all the mink in the fur farm or sprayed their coats with dye to spoil the 'crop', releasing them has damaged the whole ecosystem and will do so indefinitely as the mink cannot be removed and will continue to breed.

[Mystical Journey]

Seems like there should be a way without killing them. i know sometimes it has to be done but it makes me sad.

[Corwen]

Seems like there should be a way without killing them. i know sometimes it has to be done but it makes me sad.

If you can think of it a lot of nature reserve wardens will be very happy.

[DaRC]

Like the Mink in the UK which do huge damage to wildlife but they are wily and shy and thus hard to catch or kill.

Information from the Wildlife trusts suggest that as Otters move back into an area they may kill the Mink - but they can also cohabit. Unfortunately Mink must be killed, it's a legal requirement.
More info on removing Mink here:
http://www.sussexotters.org/pdf/Mink%20Control%20for%20Wildlife%20Conservation.pdf

[samurai]

Mink are serious killers of anything they can over power,they climb,swim and dig. If live caught they must be humanely dispatched (by law-i think its 1954 pest act).The damage they cause is not a pretty sight. They got into some rarebreed chicken runs near where I live and slaughtered nearly 70 birds. They seem to have more energy than a fox once they get going. Lucky really that they are not bigger than they are.