What Exotic Animals Can You Own In New Zealand
Surround
From exotic pets to pests
Brute protection groups say the global exotic pet merchandise is a growing multibillion-dollar industry that's having a devastating impact on wildlife populations across the earth. In New Zealand, lizards and turtles are traded freely, legally and in increasing numbers, and when the odd ane has escaped our cold temperatures accept largely stopped them reproducing. But those temperatures are heating up.
The World Fauna Protection is urging people not to buy, own or breed a wild animal as a pet. It'south commissioned polling that found a quarter of exotic pet owners did no inquiry before buying a wild animate being as a pet ... and more than half of them didn't realised their pet was classified every bit 'exotic'.
Cassandra Koenen heads the group'southward campaign on exotic pets.
"There's an supposition that a reptile can be released into the wild and it volition be fine," she says. "But that doesn't accept into account the biodiversity (of the place information technology's being released to). In countries like New Zealand that's something that's highly challenging," she says.
"I of the challenges in owning an exotic pet is that in many countries it's legal. At that place's a perception that because it's legal then it'southward a great thought. That's non the example."
Koenen is talking to land and federal governments in several countries about the concept of a "positive list" – a listing of species that are allowed to be kept equally pets. It's basically restricted to domestic animals (cats, dogs, guinea pigs, horses) and anything non on the listing is banned. Belgium introduced it in 2001 for mammals. Koenen, who is based in Canada, says for example in Toronto it's not legal to accept a flamingo as a pet because if released, it wouldn't survive in the wild.
Department of Conservation science advisor, biosecurity, Rod Hitchmough, says quite a number of species now have the potential to institute in this country and become a problem. Some Australian lizards in particular, such as blue tongue skinks, are a worry - anotherthat'due south been found in several water ways are Water Dragons. They are carnivorous and go for New Zealand'south giant land snails.
He says imported birds are an consequence as well – he names rainbow lorikeets and ring necked parakeets as flashy flying creatures that are prone to escaping, where they compete with native wildlife.
Hitchmough says it's not illegal to go along these lizards and birds as pets, but bug ascend when people don't want them any more than or they escape ... specially when people release them to reserves. That is illegal. He says the extent of any damage they practise isn't exactly known, but information technology's not just direct damage to the environment that could be a problem. Diseases may well be transmitted to native species, and there's predation to worry about too.
The near worrying are the ones that have the potential to found. For birds that'south rainbow lorikeets and band necked parakeets; with reptiles information technology'south water dragons showtime with bluish tongue skinks second. "Water dragons can be very elusive," he says. But they're besides very expensive, which means owners are more than probable to hang on to them.
The assumption is that either pet owners just go ill of them and let them go – they turn out to exist too expensive or they simply get too large. "It's pure speculation though."
Trade Me is awash with red-eared slider turtles, which is the species beingness nerveless most ofttimes by reptile rescue services. "Kids have lost interest", one honest seller says.
Red-eared slider turtles - one of the world'south 100 worst invasive species - are increasingly being establish on urban edge areas, and in the water ways of towns and cities. Auckland'south Western Springs Park is a popular dumping ground and they're often spotted in marsh at Bethells Beach. At the moment it'south not too much of a problem because sex determination is temperature-dependent, and it's besides common cold in New Zealand for females to hatch. But Hitchmough points out that with global warming, that may change.
"Information technology's about being a conscientious pet owner," he says. "If you no longer want your pet, practice the right thing and observe it a adept home, or give it to a rescue organization. Also, not convenance if y'all don't know what you're doing. Breeding them is not illegal just whether information technology'south ethical or not is a personal conclusion."
Hitchmough points out that making the turtles readily available cheaply increases the likelihood of impulse buying, regretting the decision, and letting it go.
He says turtles were rare every bit pets in New Zealand until the 1960s. "A lot of species have only been in the New Zealand pet merchandise for xxx years at the most and the numbers have been edifice up, and then information technology's quite contempo. We don't know why that is. There's no proof that a lot of these things were illegally imported ... and information technology would be very difficult to prove."
Pet accord
There are 1800 unlike pet species here non native to New Zealand, most of them ornamental fish. The Ministry for Principal Industries is setting up a Pet Accordance, which has assessed 35 species every bit existence of high risk of becoming established. New Zealand has the highest charge per unit of pet ownership in the earth, only at that place'south a list of escapees which have gone on to form wild populations here.
At the moment MPI is working on an eradication programme for the European Alpine Newt, which has been seen near Waihi - that's on the verge of a successful conclusion.
MPI's principle conservation counselor, Erik van Eyndhoven, says several programmes are also underway to catch Indian ring-necked parakeets, including near Thames and in Christchurch. They are easier to find than amphibians, with the public happy to report them. Ruby-red-eared slider turtles, he says, are "certainly on our radar and something that needs to be watched closely", simply they accept been assessed of being of medium concern when information technology comes to establishing feral populations. Developed males and females have been released but temperature bias does keep the numbers downwardly - yet van Eyndhoven says at that place are micro-sites where females have been produced.
"Anecdotally we are getting more and more reports of cerise-eared slider turtles," he says. However data is non collected on it - and reports also go to councils around the state, and DoC. "Definitely we want owners to realise that they can't release them into the wild." The cheap price of replacement pets too concerns him - that makes it easier to just go and get some other one.
Van Eyndhoven says there are a multifariousness of reasons as to why pets get out - including people who can't bring themselves to euthanise a pet and let them get instead. He says in that location's also a religious element where releasing animals is enshrined in practices.
DoC and Biosecurity New Zealand recently issued a press release aimed at the Chinese customs, reminding Buddhists that the practice of 'saving lives' of animals should not extend to releasing invasive species such equally red-eared slider turtles and koi carp into lakes and streams.
"This action is not only against the law, it is extremely harmful to the native species living in these areas. Native species practice not co-habitat well with these imported species as we know from the disastrous introduction of rats, stoats, possums and weasels," it said.
The Chinese Conservation Teaching Trust has offered to let Buddhists attend a native species release instead.
Non good for the natives - or the turtles
Sarah Liggins, a trained veterinarian nurse, runs North Shore Reptile Rescue from her domicile. She gets turtles passed on from the SPCA or pet shops, or they've been dumped in a box exterior her gate, or handed in by people who observe them on the road. Often they accept rotting shells or dog bites from fending for themselves in the wild. It'southward non the damage to the country'south water means that worries her, simply the cavalier treatment dished out to the turtles.
They're creatures that need a lot of care and attention, and that costs money. Initial setup costs are around $1000, for a tank, ultra-violet oestrus lamp, water conditioner, nutrient, filters – "a lot of people become put off when you tell them that," says Liggins. They also smell. When they get bigger they demand a proper pond – they will end up beingness about 30cm long. And they can live up to 40 years.
"It'south definitely time-consuming (looking after them)," she says. "Finding a savvy vet can be difficult besides – people don't want to pay for that. A lot of people call back they can purchase one of those blue sandpits from The Warehouse and information technology'll be fine."
She had to find homes for 20 turtles earlier Christmas simply has none at the moment – the job goes in fits and starts.
Liggins says they're being mass produced by breeders who are just feeding demand – they're going for $38 on Trade Me. "I've spoken to a couple of people who breed red-ears for the pet market place and they don't have whatsoever problem with it," she says. "They say it's doing minimal damage to the environment, that hardly whatsoever become released. But we've seen a lot of them at Western Springs, most of them big adults. They're in Lake Pupuke, I've rescued axolotls from there as well. I've seen turtles in a stream at Belmont, one down at Takapuna beach, some from a creek in Brownish'southward Bay – you observe them everywhere." Many are in salty water or filthy ponds, in terrible conditions or with damaged shells.
Liggins says the turtles do eat native fish, and if there's a shortage of those they will come up on country to eat mice and skinks, but to her knowledge they're not causing huge environmental damage. She says Australian h2o dragons and blueish-tongued lizards are another story however – the h2o dragons tin grow a metre long.
Liggins would similar to encounter pet stores adopt a 'no questions asked' policy for people to return unwanted turtles instead of releasing them into the wild.
Source: https://www.newsroom.co.nz/from-exotic-pets-to-pests
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