Escaped parrots are a serious problem for native birds in New Zealand

[Catherine]

Quote:This is not the parrots' fault; it is the fault of the humans who are not careful enough with their non-native imports. Import and breeding bans of non-native species are sometimes now needed, to save local species. This is a sad fact of life, entirely caused by human carelessness.

None of these species ever asked to be moved  to another country let alone another continent. 
I think all countries are struggling with invasive species. Some species can be pretty destructive. The parrots in New Zealand could potentially wipe out a number of local birds. Banning some species may be the only way to stop this. 

Florida is another matter. There are so many invasive reptiles. Iguanas are thriving there. Some are starting to adapt to the cold so they will be able to move further north. Iguanas eat a lot of vegetation. They could have serious impact on native species of plants and agriculture. A group of iguanas could ravage a vegetable crop.

The Tegus are a whole different issue. Argentine Tegus are serious carnivores and they grow to 4 ft  and live over 20 years. They can climb trees and eat the eggs or baby birds from the nests. They can get the adult birds too. They will go for rodents and any other small animals. They eat a lot. They could wipe out local species because they are good hunters. 

There are so many other species in Florida that don't belong there and are really messing up the ecosystems. I have no idea how they can fix this.

People releasing pets or losing them is a problem. Your mother was a responsible budgie owner. She never took chances with her bird. If all other pet owners were as responsible we wouldn't have these problems. 

Goldfish are a whole other level of invasive species. Whole lakes and ponds have been destroyed by a few released goldfish. They can handle the cold and they multiply very quickly. They can eat anything. 

Maybe this needs to be tackled as a global issue, the way we are trying to tackle climate change.