Non-native species cost 'British economy £1.7bn'

[MacAdder]

Non-native species cost 'British economy £1.7bn'
Invasive non-native species such as the grey squirrel and Japanese knotweed cost the British economy £1.7bn a year, a report has suggested.
Researchers said crops, ecosystems and livelihoods could be damaged when such species took hold.
The study found that the rabbit was the most economically damaging species, followed by Japanese knotweed.
The research was conducted for Defra, the Scottish government and the Welsh Assembly Government.
'Significant impact'
The cost was significantly higher at £1.3bn in England where invasive non-native species have become more established.
The price was put at £251m in Scotland and £133m in Wales.
The cost to British agriculture and horticulture was £1bn alone, according to the research carried out by international scientific organisation Cabi.
Other damaging species included the rat, the house mouse and the mink, and plants such as the rhododendron and giant hogweed.
Defra Minister Richard Benyon said: "Invasive non-native species have a significant impact on the British economy and damage our own wildlife.
"The costs of controlling these species will rise unless society takes steps to prevent them taking hold and spreading."
'Serious threat'
He added: "It becomes increasingly difficult and costly to control invasive non-native species as they become more established.
"Taking early action may seem expensive, but this report shows that it is the most effective approach, saving money in the long run and helping our native wildlife to thrive."
Scottish Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham said: "We all know about the serious threat to our native wildlife from invasive non-native species, and this report confirms the huge cost to businesses and individuals in Great Britain every year."
Welsh Environment Minister Jane Davidson said the assembly government was "committed to protecting and enhancing our biodiversity and to understanding its relationship with, and impact on, our economy".
15 December 2010 Last updated at 00:33 GMT

BBC News - Non-native species cost 'British economy £1.7bn' (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11996801)

[infernalis]

We have invasive hogweed near me.

I know a kid who chopped down some doing landscaping work, and he got sap on his skin, to make it worse it was a hot sunny day and the lad was running mowers with just a pair of shorts on and no shirt.

the sap splattered all over the place, those blisters were nasty looking.

[red ink]

Cost of invasive species Bufo marinus in Australia

Localised population extinction of Northern Quoll in infested teritory

90% drop in population of V. panoptes in infested area. Recent survey showing 100% mortality of 9 tracked V. panoptes within a year of Bufo marinus infestation of teritory

80% drop in population of V. mertensi in Bufo marinus infected teritory

70% drop in V. mitchelli population in Bufo marinus infested teritory

45% drop in localised teritory population of Crocadylus johnsoni in Bufo marinus infested teritory

Un-balanced eco-system in Bufo-marinus teritory, long term effects unknown as apex predators decrease in population in affected teritories.

[infernalis]

Recent studies in the US have shown survivability in large pythons to be much further north than originally believed.

Not good publicity for our passions here, but they now figure that these snakes can survive and breed well north of Florida.

The stats on that will be interesting in years to come.

[presspirate]

Recent studies in the US have shown survivability in large pythons to be much further north than originally believed.

Not good publicity for our passions here, but they now figure that these snakes can survive and breed well north of Florida.

The stats on that will be interesting in years to come.

I forget what I was watching, but one program suggested the the majority of the pythons in Florida was a result of Hurricane Andrew I believe. A holding/quarantine facility which housed imported animals was destroyed, and thousands of snakes were released into the ecosystem. I'm not sure of the validity of that claim.

[Nafun]

It boggles me that after 6000+ years of intentionally spreading invasive species, we've become concerned about their spread. I'm not saying they're a good thing, they're a bad thing. However, every single cultivated crop and farm raised animal is an invasive species somewhere. The culling of wild horses is considered abominable in places like the US and Australia, but they're invasive species in both places. Heck, we're an invasive species. Given enough time, an invasive species just becomes part of the ecosystem.

[infernalis]

It boggles me that after 6000+ years of intentionally spreading invasive species, we've become concerned about their spread. I'm not saying they're a good thing, they're a bad thing. However, every single cultivated crop and farm raised animal is an invasive species somewhere. The culling of wild horses is considered abominable in places like the US and Australia, but they're invasive species in both places. Heck, we're an invasive species. Given enough time, an invasive species just becomes part of the ecosystem.


Excellent point.

We are the most invasive species on the planet, always showing up where we don't belong.

We are the only invasive species that invades land, air & water!

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Books/Pix/pictures/2009/5/29/1243603980929/Landing-barge-on-D-Day-002.jpg

[Damion930]

I think its messed up that nobody seems concerned about the effect it has on the system when we kill all the preditors wolves started growing in population in the northern US and ppl freaked killem killem but a snake kills some bird in the swamp and the environmentals lose it its funny how they like to pic and chose what belongs and what dosent

[infernalis]

Another fine point, But the hard facts remain.. Man has introduced these species. There's an African rat species that is out of control. They are devastating.

Some animals are transported for pet trade, some for food, some by accident, regardless of the reason, new critters that have no predators become the instant top of the food chain.

Killer bees from South America (a genetic blunder to the 10th order) were created and then invaded.

There should be NO picking and choosing. But man will never stop transporting foreign animals or stop splicing genes anytime soon.

Seems like we would have learned by now.

[Damion930]

even without us moving them around nature has Ben doing it all on its own since it all began its always seemed a little off to me that we have this idea that it all needs to stay the same species come and go some live some die I'm not saying that we don't have a large impact on nature because we do I see it all the time in my job but its always shifting and changing and adjusting but I also follow a philosophy that everything in this world happens because its ment to if we like it or not

[percey39]

Valid points to all, but introduced species often will adapt to their new environment quite quickly. As red ink has said we are only now just realising how far the cane toad can move and survive. This species has the potential to to eliminate a lot of species purely through injestion of these animals. They are making their into areas where wild populations are not known for sure but some estimates say we will lose species for good if not taken care of completely in the next 2-4 years.
The cane toad was bought here to attempt to eliminate the cane beetle, now we have realised that the toad is a bigger problem than the beetles.

[MacAdder]

I think in the movie the matrix it describes it well.
“Humans are not mammals but in fact a virus. They populate and area and instead of co-existing with other life destroy everything. The only way for this species to survive is to move to another area and then to another etc.”

[Reptile_Reptile]

mac the same can be said for any other species. there are just more of us and thus we consume more. and its not like we dont co-exist with some species. if there were as many lions as us there probably would be any buffalo or zebra left in a area then they would move and be considered invasive too just for looking for food, am i rambling or do i make at least some sense (sorry ive had this debate with a few other people who brought that matrix stuff up)

[infernalis]

OK I'm game....

Show me any other mammal that will strip mine the land, chop down all the trees, pollute the air, taint the water and then move on to repeat it.

[Reptile_Reptile]

beaver chops down tree's... ants will burrow and destroy entire plots of land along with moles and a number of other tunneling species. idk who would be polluting aside from the occasional methane burst. and hippos and ducks and any mammal that lives in or around a source of water will pollute it especially bovine who destroy root systems and ruin natural water filtration. albeit none of it is as drastic as what we do but if there were 100,000 beavers in a forest soon enough there would be no forest. and where we are now trying to fix it animals would not.

[infernalis]

All valid points... Don't mean to go all "heavy" on Christmas eve..

I only wish photos from 200 years ago existed for comparison.

http://en.al-mohd.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/pollution2.gif

http://www.treehugger.com/468_china-pollution-prob-001.jpg

http://www.uncoached.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/oil_spill_1.jpg

http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200702/r128197_420584.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/NYC-Skyline-1.jpg

[presspirate]

I've said it before, either here. or on another forum. Be a good person, Teach your kids not to liter. It does not matter your religion, the earth is your home..

[infernalis]

I've said it before, either here. or on another forum. Be a good person, Teach your kids not to liter. It does not matter your religion, the earth is your home..


Ahmen to that.

[shaunyboy]

Excellent point.

We are the most invasive species on the planet, always showing up where we don't belong.

We are the only invasive species that invades land, air & water!

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Books/Pix/pictures/2009/5/29/1243603980929/Landing-barge-on-D-Day-002.jpg

have to agree

we even have giant american craw fish over here,they have all but killed off our smaller native species

cheers shaun

[shaunyboy]

I've said it before, either here. or on another forum. Be a good person, Teach your kids not to liter. It does not matter your religion, the earth is your home..


i'm not religious

religion has caused and still continues to cause more deaths than anything else on our planet

that said we have a lot to learn from native american beliefs

who respect mother earth and all that comes with it

they see planet earth as our nurturing mother

and the seasons,sky and stars as our father

even when they take part of a medicinal plant they prey for forgiveness for taking part of the plant also that the plant may thrive

then they leave the rest to grow and thrive again

imo if everyone on this earth had the same belief system as native american indians the world would be a much better place

cheers shaun

[infernalis]

I'm glad you said that Shaun... I'm part of each. My ancestry is really mixed.

One of the reasons I seem so dark and gloomy about this subject.

I don't care for Thanksgiving, it's a twisted holiday. Why celebrate the "invasion"??

The "settlers" arrived and immediately raped the land, slaughtered the natives and drove species to extinction all in the name of the crown, and then decided to start a war against the very reason they arrived.

Let's not forget that these people also went to Africa and captured countless natives and brought them here against their wishes for slaves simply because the have darker skin.

Fully agreed on the religion front, "holy war" has been going on for thousands of years.

[shaunyboy]

I'm glad you said that Shaun... I'm part of each. My ancestry is really mixed.

One of the reasons I seem so dark and gloomy about this subject.

I don't care for Thanksgiving, it's a twisted holiday. Why celebrate the "invasion"??

The "settlers" arrived and immediately raped the land, slaughtered the natives and drove species to extinction all in the name of the crown, and then decided to start a war against the very reason they arrived.

Let's not forget that these people also went to Africa and captured countless natives and brought them here against their wishes for slaves simply because the have darker skin.

Fully agreed on the religion front, "holy war" has been going on for thousands of years.

i agree mate,i cant see why the folk who first arrived in america on the mayflower are treated as blue blooded royalty in the states

they seem proud to be the first batch of english to arrive

would have been a proud thing if they didnt behave how you described above wayne

they did the same to the aborigines in australia

and the africans and countless other places

its good the to see the native americans and aboriginies are now fighting back through courts of law


the english have a lot to answer for (no offence meant to you john)

they used to say the sun never set on the brittish empire

should have been the english empire imo

they owned most of the world at that point

even sent us scotts to australia for trivial offences or no offences at all

they shipped thousands of scotts off their land in the highland clearances to make way for sheep of all things

there were a few scotts nobelmen in on it before someone jumps on me for that

thats why working class scottish folk are not fond of being classed as brittish or from the uk

we are proud scottish people from scotland

i mean no offence to any english users of this forum as its ancient history but its what gives us our national pride

the english were a tricky clever bunch back in those days

but ruthless with it

cheers shaun

[Reptile_Reptile]

I'm glad you said that Shaun... I'm part of each. My ancestry is really mixed.

One of the reasons I seem so dark and gloomy about this subject.

I don't care for Thanksgiving, it's a twisted holiday. Why celebrate the "invasion"??

The "settlers" arrived and immediately raped the land, slaughtered the natives and drove species to extinction all in the name of the crown, and then decided to start a war against the very reason they arrived.

Let's not forget that these people also went to Africa and captured countless natives and brought them here against their wishes for slaves simply because the have darker skin.

Fully agreed on the religion front, "holy war" has been going on for thousands of years.

and the English settled in Africa and subjugated the African culture and made them less then humans pretty close to the slavery Americans brought on them but kept it up much longer.
the Egyptians even had slaves before that
and the Sumerians
pretty much every culture has its darkside cultures couldnt have been what they are now without it too. im not saying it was a necessary evil because i'd rather still live in a hut then to be able to say my country is founded on the backs of slaves. but it is what it is and none of the things we are discussing are our fault. most of us werent even born yet and those who were, were just babies or toddlers all that matters now is that we try to fix what we inherited and one day our children will have to do the same its the cycle of life. so all we can do is the right thing now and hope everything will turn out great. i'd even take ok

[MacAdder]

I am a South African with Scottish Highland and Irish ancestry. I am reading a very interesting book detailing how the European “invaded” this continent.
In my opinion capitalistic greed was the motivation for nearly all the atrocities committed.

[Reptile_Reptile]

i agree fully

[shaunyboy]

all that matters now is that we try to fix what we inherited and one day our children will have to do the same its the cycle of life. so all we can do is the right thing now and hope everything will turn out great. i'd even take ok

such wise and honourable words

im glad it comes from someone so young

it gives me hope that one day all the wrongs of the past may be righted and the world can move on to where there are no english,scottish,american.canadian,etc

where people will simply be human beings all equal in every way.....!!!

who respect the earth we live on and realise we are here for but a short time but how we act in this time can leave centuarys of trouble for future generations


one of the things that anger me most about our world is there are countrys able to throw away food while other countrys die of starvation

its wrong

surely theres enough food and water for all earths people and it is morally wrong that we do not share with each other

the sooner all people on earth learn we're all in this together imo the quicker things will be sorted

cheers shaun

[shaunyboy]

I think in the movie the matrix it describes it well.
“Humans are not mammals but in fact a virus. They populate and area and instead of co-existing with other life destroy everything. The only way for this species to survive is to move to another area and then to another etc.”


^^^^^
i agree with the above

instead of the word virus i'd use spoilt children

i'd class the human race for the best part as running about causing havoc like greedy spoilt children (i can also see the likeness to a virus though)

i think now though some are growing up and starting to look at the consiquences of these past actions

i mean look at the carnage that has been caused by the industrial revolution...!!

here we are more than 100 years later finally starting to learn from these mistakes

greed is the cause of most of it imo

mans lust for money and power

i fear things will have to get dramatically worse before the get completely better

that said there are more folk concerned with putting things right on earth now than ever before

we are still reliant on modern inventions to live our day to day lives

they reckon if we had bad storms in space the magnetic pulse could knock the world out for up to 10 years.where no modern tecnology would work

this imo is when the world will have went full circle and only the indigenous tribes that still live by the old ways will have a strong chance of survival

the above is just my way of thining

cheers shaun

[shaunyboy]

I am a South African with Scottish Highland and Irish ancestry. I am reading a very interesting book detailing how the European “invaded” this continent.
In my opinion capitalistic greed was the motivation for nearly all the atrocities committed.


greed is the reason for most if not all problems on this planet mate

mans lust for money and power.....!!!

in theory the communist way would work if the powers that be stood by the principle

but they don't they get greedy

mans inability to put others before himself

if everyone did not put their selves first but put everyone else in their community first the world would work a lot better

including my wife and i there are 6 members of my immediate family (4 kids)

i taught my kids that we always put other family members before ourselves

that way instead of looking out for yourself with 2 ears,2 eyes,2 hands

you have 10 ears,10 eyes,10 hands looking out for you so you have the protection of 5 people instead of just looking after number 1(the other 5 members of our family is what i mean)

i also taught my kids to never lie to each other and always stick together and be there for each other

i tell them when their mother and i are long gone all they will have is each other

also a chain is only as strong as its weakest link

so any member of our family that is weakening must be aided and strengthened by the rest of the family

we also do not allow family members to cause conflict and try and tear the family apart from the inside out

we discus and fix anything that hurts the family unit

cheers shaun

[infernalis]

I heard this once, can't remember where..

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it"

[Nafun]

Communism works in the same way anarchy works. On paper. It always breaks down over human nature. People are only as good and/or productive as they have to be.

I'm personally an atheist, but I believe religion can be a positive force in the world. I'm not saying it *is* a positive force, just that it can be. A lot of the most effective charities are run by religious organizations. Unfortunately, a lot of priests, ministers, rabbis, imams, etc preach peace out of one side of their mouth, and hate out of the other.

Personally, I think the human race is doomed. We won't seriously start focusing on renewable resources until famines and energy shortages hit first world countries, and at that point, it will be too late (if it isn't already, I read one quote that scientists believe it's already 50+ years too late). Why do we build coal power plants instead of covering the desert in photovoltaic cells? Why do we cut down forests to make paper instead of making it from straw or hemp?

There was a wonderful show on FX called 30 Days. It starred Morgan Spurlock (the Super Size Me guy), and he, or other people, would immerse themselves in another culture for 30 days. In one episode, where two wasteful city people were sent to live at a hippie commune for 30 days, the filthy hippies (who crapped in buckets for compost, got their electricity from solar cells, grew all their own crops, and ate a vegetarian diet) computed that if everyone lived *just like them* completely off the grid, wasting nothing, we would still require 1.8 earths to sustain the world's population.

In other words, even if we all live in mud houses, grow our own food, fertilize with our own manure (humanure they call it), never bathe, and rely entirely on renewable energy, we've got to shed over 3 billion people for the world to stabilize.

Since 3 billion people aren't going to volunteer for suicide, and the 7 billion we have aren't going to volunteer to live like hippies and limit themselves to one child for a few generations, we're pretty much screwed. Scarcity will lead to resource wars (Protip: They've already started.). Eventually, the resource wars will go nuclear, which will lower the population threshold even farther. Millions will die from fighting, billions will die from famine. Did I mention that the human race can never rise again? That's right. If we blow ourselves into the dark ages, the dark ages are where we'll stay. All the easy ores are gone. The old growth forests are gone. The fossil fuels are gone. *Some* intelligent life might rise again some day, give it half a billion years for fresh ores to rise to the crust and new fossil fuels to form.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to put my tin-foil hat back on, and go buy some more blamco mac-n-cheese for my fallout shelter.

[Nafun]

I heard this once, can't remember where..

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it"

"Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it" - George Santayana, a Spanish philosopher.