Beijing Daily Client | Commentator Bao Nan
In recent times, "strange fish" crocodile gar have appeared in many places in our country, causing concern and heated discussion. media investigation found that while here they are trying their best to "fish", many online stores there are still secretly selling this exotic species.
What is the origin of the crocodile gar? It is native to North America and is a giant freshwater carnivorous fish with no "natural enemies" in Chinese waters. Generally speaking, there are three ways for alien species to invade : natural entry, intentional introduction, and unintentional introduction. The crocodile gar currently appearing in China probably belongs to the second type. They are mostly raised as pets from fry to , and are later released into the natural environment because they are too big to exceed the fish tank.
With the improvement of people's living standards and the diversification of aesthetic concepts, pets at home are no longer limited to cats and dogs, but a trend of alternative pet raising that pursues "new, strange and unique" has been born. However, since there is almost no relevant popular science work, many people have no idea whether the exotic pets they raise are alien species, whether they are protected animals, whether they are prohibited animals, etc. In recent years, from Brazilian red-eared turtles to African giant snails to Chinese apple snails , it is not uncommon for alien species to invade due to pet keeping. This undoubtedly reminds us that the current exotic pet industry chain is highly correlated with the invasion of alien species, and we must be sufficiently vigilant. Since
is a dangerous alien species, we can’t help but ask, how did they enter China, and how are they openly sold online? In , the " invasive alien species list" is not updated in a timely manner, and the related supervision "Kowloon flood control" are important factors. Overseas import of , market sales of flowers, birds, fish and insects, e-commerce express transportation and other links belong to multiple departments such as customs, forest police, market supervision, postal and so on. Supervision is often based on the principle of "the people do not punish the officials", and it is inevitable that there will be "A fish that slipped through the net." It can be said that whether it is the "demand side" or the "supply side", there are still many problems that need to be solved on how to prevent the negative impact of the exotic pet economy.
focuses on the exotic pet industry chain, which has increasingly become a new topic in preventing the invasion of alien species. For government functional departments, the first step is to strengthen source management, strengthen port quarantine supervision and law enforcement for invasive alien species channels such as inbound goods, means of transportation, consignments, passenger luggage, cross-border e-commerce, and border trade, and establish and improve the management of invasive alien species. A comprehensive defense system against invasive species. At the same time, the list of invasive alien species must be updated in a timely manner to clearly inform the public which exotic pets can and cannot be kept. For the public, they must also actively participate in the prevention and control of alien species, and should not blindly seek novelty and strangeness, and should not "release" wild species willfully. Only by gathering the joint efforts of many parties can we effectively deal with the new challenges of biosecurity .
