![]() ![]() ![]() The days of the South American coypu in Italy and northern Spain could also be numbered. A similar fate awaits the Sacred African ibis, which established colonies in France after escaping from zoos. More drastic measures such as eradication are expected for animals such as raccoons and Siberian chipmunks, to protect competitor species and stymie outbreaks of diseases such as rabies. The Italian wildlife services are expected to announce an enforcement order soon after the list is published. “We are still facing a lot of opposition to controlling grey squirrels but implementing the new regulation could really make a difference.” “We did several models showing that even if we just removed the squirrel population in the Milan area, it would delay an invasion of the central Alps for at least 100 years,” said Genovesi, who also heads Italy’s Institute for Environmental Protection and Research. A war plan has been drafted to prevent hundreds of thousands of the bushy-tailed marauders from overwhelming the region. Grey squirrels are also a problem in Italy, where the species was introduced by a returning diplomat in 1948. While sharing some of the conservationists’ concerns, Genovesi said that the blacklist could be updated rapidly, with a first round of additions possible next April. “The length of the species list is a measure of the political will to tackle a growing pressure on our biodiversity,” said Carles Carboneras, an RSPB species policy officer.Ī European commission spokesman declined to comment. The RSPB said it was also concerned at the potential release of American minks and ring-necked parakeets into the wild. They are also a major threat to the European mink, which they out-compete in mating, although inter-species offspring is rare. “The risk is that Europe is opening up to further biological invasions which will wipe out native biodiversity and impose staggering economic costs.”Īmerican minks have been responsible for a collapse in Europe’s water vole populations, as well as destroying many nesting birds, amphibians and lizards. “The commission’s minimalistic proposal suggests science is being trampled by narrow economic interests,” said Ariel Brunner the head of policy for Birdlife International. The American mink is regarded as one of Europe’s most destructive predatory imports, but has been removed from the EU list after pressure from the fur trade. Several species of crayfish will also be blackballed by the EU, although the American lobster was the subject of intense lobbying by Canada and is omitted from the list.Ĭonservation groups were outraged that some of Europe’s most destructive predatory imports – such as the American mink – had been removed from the EU’s crosshairs, after intense pressure from mink farming states such as Finland and Denmark, which produces over 14m American mink furs a year. “This is a highly innovative approach, with well-designed legislation but the real challenge will be enforcement and implementation by the EU bodies, and the countries themselves.” “It is the first step in a very positive direction,” said Piero Genovesi, an EU scientific adviser, and chair of the IUCN’s invasive species specialist group. But up to 350 other species on two “early warning” lists could rapidly be added to the blacklist, if risk assessments by EU scientists are heeded. The embargo is still being discussed with other WTO nations, and could be shortened before its expected publication in January. The advance of grey squirrels imported from North America by Victorian landowners has already shrunk the territory of the UK’s once endemic red squirrels to a few cantons in Scotland and the Isle of Wight. It also obliges countries including the UK to eradicate invading populations within two months of a new appearance where possible, and to draw up blueprints for containing existing colonies. ![]()
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