Don’t flush that pet fish or turtle down the toilet: CCMB scientist
The HinduDecember 22, 2023 06:00 am | Updated December 23, 2023 07:02 am IST - HYDERABAD Flushing pet fish or turtle down the toilet or releasing them in a pond, letting a pet bird fly away, abandoning a pet dog or cat does not only endanger their life but it can also set off a possible biological invasion in the future. Invasive species are also responsible for incurring huge economic losses every year for the country, said invasion biologist Gopi Krishnan from Dr. G. Umapathy’s lab in an official online post. Rose-ringed parakeet, Burmese pythons, red-eared slider turtles are other examples of ‘pets’ becoming invasive species after initially moved as part of the pet trade, Mr. Gopi Krishnan explained. Government departments and voluntary organisations have been been working towards tackling invasive species by conducting eradication drives, monitoring illegal pet trades, etc., said the scientist, who called for “collective action”.
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