R.C. AndersonBeaver Extermination in Argentina
September 12th 2008 16:00
Beavers have never populated Argentina and therefore, they have no natural predators. Because of this, the beavers reproduced at an unchecked rate and now there are 100,000 of them. This has led to the unrestricted destruction of the country’s rivers and forests, creating eyesores and an eco-disaster. So far, 16 million hectares have been destroyed and there isn’t any hope that the trees will revive. Unlike North American trees, when trees in South America are chopped down by a beaver, they don’t grow back.
Although these beavers are in the very southern section of the country now, the government fears they will begin to move north to destroy forests in other regions. To prevent this, the government has put forward a plan to destroy all the beavers through aggressive actions using traps, dogs, boats etc. Although some with the project believe fully it can work, others aren’t so sure. After all, if you only leave two beavers, they will repopulate the area and revive the current problem.
Many people believe introducing an animal native to another part of the world can be done repercussion-free, but it simply isn’t true. NOAA, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, believes 50,000 foreign species are in the U.S. strangling out the native ones. In fact, native species now comprise 42% of the species on the threatened and endangered lists. Invasive species, as of 2000, had caused $137 billion in damages to U.S. ecosystems and agriculture. With numbers and problems such as these, the best policy seems to be one of non-introduction of foreign species, no matter how cute or potentially profitable they seem.
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Comment by GlenB
Raw Fish
All of these plants and animals were introduced by misguided ...
Marsupials cannot compete with mammals, and fragile ecosystems cannot compete with exotic invaders. That's why Autralia has such strict customs and quarantine laws.