Alien "agents"? Back off! Back off! Back off!

Recently, Zhongshan Port Customs intercepted cockroaches

The news became a hot search

It has attracted a lot of discussion and attention from netizens

Nowadays, pets have become important members of many families.

However, in recent years

Keeping "alternative pets"

Becoming a trend pursued by more and more young people

Different from traditional pets such as cats, dogs and birds

They are "outsiders" introduced by some people.

Some of them look strange

Some are colorful

Popular among young people

But many people don’t know

These "alternative pets" may

It is likely to become a threat to the local wild food chain.

"Biological Killer"

What are invasive alien species?

Species in nature are always in a state of constant migration and diffusion. The frequent human activities have further exacerbated the spread of species, allowing many organisms to break through geographical isolation and expand into other environments.

Species that originally had no natural distribution in the local area and appeared outside their natural distribution range due to migration, diffusion, human activities, etc. are collectively called alien species. Among alien species, some species are intentionally introduced from one place to another by humans for their uses. These species are called introduced species.

Image source: Xinhua News Agency

However, among the alien species (including introduced species), some escape into the environment and become wild after being transplanted. If the new environment is not controlled by natural enemies, coupled with vigorous reproduction and strong competitiveness, alien species will become invaders, crowding out native species in the environment, destroying the local ecological balance, and even causing harmful effects on the human economy. Such alien species are generally called invasive species, such as red fire ants, golden apple snails, water hyacinths, African giant snails, Brazilian red-eared sliders, pine wood nematodes, etc.

The situation of biological invasions in my country is very serious. For example, the invasive species red fire ant was first discovered in mainland my country in 2004. Monitoring data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in early 2022 showed that the invasive organism had spread to 12 provinces across the country; the fall armyworm was introduced into my country in 2019 and spread to more than 20 provinces within a year of invading my country, affecting the safety of tens of millions of acres of crops.

In recent years, major invasive species in the world have frequently invaded my country, such as the tomato leafminer (invaded in 2017), the fall armyworm (invaded in 2019), the tomato brown wrinkled fruit virus (invaded in 2019), etc. New/emerging invasive species are spreading rampantly and causing disasters, posing a huge threat of invasion damage.

In October 2021, the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Further Strengthening Biodiversity Conservation", which also clearly proposed to improve the prevention and control management level of alien invasive species and carry out a census of alien invasive species.

Image source: Ministry of Ecology and Environment

Not all pets are cute!

Exotic pets, also known as alternative pets, first emerged in Europe, the United States, Japan and other countries, and later gradually became popular in my country. They refer to wild animals that are raised and viewed as pets, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and other vertebrates and some invertebrates. They may come from the wild or be the offspring of artificial breeding of wild species, and often come from other countries and regions.

Image source: Photo Network - Palace Gecko

Image source: Xiangshan Qingfeng - Bungarus

In recent years, keeping "exotic pets" has become a new fashion in many countries and regions. While the popularity of "exotic pets" has brought novel experiences to people, unquarantined "exotic pets" are disguised and packaged and illegally sent into the country through cross-border e-commerce, mail, express delivery and other channels, which is very likely to bring the risk of invasion of alien species.

Illegal delivery of "alternative pets"

What harm might it cause?

1. Spread of pathogenic microorganisms such as viruses and bacteria

Illegally mailing "alternative pets" abroad, because their origin is unknown and they have not been quarantined by relevant departments of the exporting country or region, they may carry a variety of pathogenic microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, etc., which may cause serious or even fatal effects on human health.

Image source: Photo Network

Live animals and plants are the main sources of animal diseases and zoonoses. Studies have shown that among the 1,410 human diseases surveyed, about 61% were caused by animal pathogens. Among the approximately 200 known zoonoses, at least 70 are related to "alternative pets."

2. Causing the invasion of alien species

"Alternative pets" illegally brought or mailed from abroad, especially wild species, are likely to cause alien species invasion once they adapt to the local ecological environment, threatening my country's ecosystems, habitats, and species, and causing serious harm to agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and the ecological environment. my country has a complex and diverse ecosystem. Once alien species hybridize with local species, they may cause gene pool pollution and damage the local ecological structure.

Image source: Photo Network

This is not only related to the food problem of 1.4 billion Chinese people, but also to the world's food security. For example, the impact of rice water weevils and golden apple snails on rice production can reach 70%-80%, and even cause a total crop failure in severe cases; the fall armyworm invaded my country in early 2019, and in 2021 it has occurred in 1,426 counties in 27 provinces across the country, with an actual investigation of an area of ​​20.75 million mu, mainly harming crops such as corn and wheat. If they are not controlled or controlled in time, the yield loss is 20%-30%, and in severe cases it can reach more than 50%.

3. Impact on economic development

In recent years, the international trade of some agricultural products in my country has been seriously hindered by the invasion of alien species. The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) formulated by the World Trade Organization clearly stipulate that in the case of sufficient scientific basis, some technical barriers can be set up to prevent the invasion of harmful organisms in order to protect production safety and national security.

END

Source: Xinhua News Agency, Jiemian News

China Customs Science and Technology Research Center

Xiangshan Breeze, Youthful Beijing

Compiled by: Dong Xiaoxian

Editor: Guru