Le Snakehead Is In La River

A large Indonesian snakehead fish (Channa micropeltes) was found dead in the Saint Charles River in Quebec last month - possibly the first find of this species in the wild in Quebec. It's thought to be a released pet. Need a French translation? Try this forum (towards the bottom of the page)

Check, Please!

Interesting article in the Statesman Journal about the "educational sweeps" for non-native species currently underway by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The ODFW's Invasive Species Coordinator makes routine visits to pet shops across Oregon to make sure they're not selling prohibited species. If the coordinator finds something on the list (and he sometimes does), the store is asked to remove that plant or animal from sale. It sounds like the inspections have the added bonus of providing the ODFW with valuable information about which prohibited species are still in demand from the public.

The article includes examples of species that the state is concerned about and contact information for Oregon's Invasive Species Coordinator. Kudos to the Statesman Journal for yet another great piece in their series on invasive species. If you really want to dig deeper on this topic, you can read the Oregon legislation on the import, possession, transport and sale of non-native species, including the full species lists, for wildlife and for plants.

Adopt-An-Invader!

Wish I had caught this story when it first broke: The Miami Herald is reporting that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is looking for South Florida residents willing to adopt other people's unwanted exotic pets. The program is part of an effort by the state to discourage pet owners from dumping their critters in the wild when they're no longer wanted, and is being held in conjunction with the third annual South Florida Nonnative Pet Amnesty Day. The amnesty day, scheduled for February 23, 2008 at the Miami MetroZoo, is an opportunity for pet owners to drop off animals with no questions asked. If you think you have room in your home and your heart for a cute scaly or feathery friend, contact the Florida FWC (applications and contact info are here), but you've only got a few days left - the registration period ends December 21st.

Tip of the virtual hat to the Protect Your Waters website for posting a link to this story.

Weekend Blog Blogging

The past week in invasive species posts, from elsewhere in the blogosphere:

• Words & Pictures has an interesting post about American skunks discovered in the wild in the UK. I would think they'd be pretty low on the pet totem pole, but apparently not.
• Other bloggers had some fun with this ISW post about praying as a control method for invasive species. At bogalusa, you can read a great little poem. Drew at Drew's Brave New World suggests a new powerful acronym: WWKD (What Would Kudzu Do?). Someone put that on a bumper sticker, stat! :-)
• Fisher at the Luxury Gardens blog is a garden designer, but the questions he gets most frequently are about how to get rid of invasive plants.
• That Fish Blog has a post about lionfish, which they sell at That Fish Place but don't want you to ever release into the wild.

Slider Show

Nature might be taking care of Santa Cruz, California's red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans, formerly genus Chrysemys - thanks Sven!) problem. According to this article at the Santa Cruz Sentinel, park officials from Natural Bridges State Beach have noticed that local raccoons are snatching up the non-native turtles for dinner, and the officials aren't exactly upset about it. The red-eared sliders, most likely released by unthinking pet owners, are thought to compete with rare Western pond turtles (Clemmys marmorata) for food, and have been observed eating the legs off local frogs.

Tip of the virtual hat to the Protect Your Waters website. Negative bonus points to the Sentinel for running a big 'ol ad for TurtleSale.com right smack in the center of the article!

Pet Sounds

Looks like Israel is considering making both a black list and a white list for species kept as pets. According to this article from Haaretz.com, hearings were held last month for the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority to seek input from the public concerning which animal species should be allowed to be kept and sold (the white list), and which should be banned (the black list). While some of the species being considered for the black list are rare and in need of protection in the wild, the main reason for this effort is to prevent the further escape and establishment in Israel of such non-native species as the ring-necked parakeet (Psittacula krameri) and the Indian palm squirrel (Funambulus pennanti).

They Make Great Pets Pests?

Japanese pet-owners are apparently having a hard time adjusting to the country's new Invasive Alien Species Law, set to go into effect this June. According to this report from Daily Yomiuri, owners of snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) are frantically searching for places to bring their turtles once owning them without a permit becomes illegal. Pet snapping turtles? Yikes. There's a reason for that common name. Hopefully this new law will not backfire by leading to massive releases of non-native turtles into the wild.