Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
staff protected from political tampering. Further required is explicit adoption of a
precautionary approach in responding to alien species. This, in turn, requires an
honest economic reckoning of who in society gains from unfettered import and
who pays the costs. Finally are needed clear development and explication of effec-
tive response options for concerned government officials. Meeting these minimal
standards has allowed New Zealand to lead the world in provision of biosecurity
protection from invasive aliens, including reptiles and amphibians. Australia also
closely approximates these standards. What is certain to fail is having alien-
response authorities divided among myriad agencies liable to several layers of
political appointees. This structural failing is compounded by adopting a reac-
tionary approach to alien species that requires identification of disastrous invasions
elsewhere before adopting piecemeal, limited restrictions against a handful of
proven pests, and that is predicated on an economic paradigm that hides the
complete costs of importations. That latter approach has kept the United States,
European Union countries, and most other countries in the world mired in mana-
gerial ineffectiveness. It continues to make them liable to an unending cycle of
further invasions.
Of primary importance in stemming further herpetological invasions is stanching
the flood of introductions via the pet-trade pathway. The practical result of external-
izing trade costs - allowing private interests to accrue wealth through the pet trade
while foisting the predictable costs of unhindered importation of cheap animals
onto the general public - has been an accelerating rash of herpetological invasions,
with southern Florida, Hawaii, and the Ryukyu Islands presenting sorry cautionary
tales of dishonest market costing gone awry. In most countries, the pet industry has
remained unregulated in any way that would meaningfully reduce its large contri-
bution to herpetological invasions. It should be clear from the evidence presented
herein that that situation is untenable and should be rectified. Solutions for this
problem can no doubt come in a variety of forms but could include governmental
regulation prohibiting species deemed prone to invasiveness, improved public edu-
cation to increase responsibility among pet owners and pet dealers, and bond
requirements for wholesalers and zoos to defray the costs of management resulting
from institutional release, neglect, or bankruptcy.
Government regulation of any systematic nature may (but need not) await the
design of reliable screening protocols for invasiveness, an approach we have seen
prove fruitful with respect to plants, fish, birds, and mammals (see Chapter 1).
Despite the potential importance of government regulation in stemming the tide of
alien pet releases, one often hears claims that this is a counterproductive approach.
This largely stems from the common belief that if import restrictions are imposed
on a pet-yearning public it will only drive the trade underground. I believe such a
claim to be true. The evidence also suggests it to be irrelevant. Australia, for example,
has long banned the import for private ownership of alien herpetofauna. And every
herpetologist and herp fancier in the country knows that such species continue to
be smuggled into that nation and kept by many private enthusiasts. Yet Australia is
also the only major developed country not beset by a rash of alien pet releases. The
reason is that by driving the trade underground, Australia has made each smuggled
