HO HO WHAT?

[Chris J. Durden]

Neil,
    Thanks for warning us about the change in wildlife law in Britain. I am 
glad to see that it is still permissible to rear any exotic species not on 
the prohibited list. That is the direct opposite of US law, where it is 
prohibited to rear any exotic species that is not on the permitted list.
    As for the effect of exotics on native communities, probably the most 
detrimental to butterflies have been the afforestation of vast tracts of 
land with exotic tree species.
    Yes most attempts to introduce exotic butterfly species are not 
successful. One that was for a while was *Pamphila bucephalus* Stephens, 
1828 described from Devon. This turns out to be *Hylephila phyleus*, a 
widespread wanderer in the Americas that did manage to colonize Bermuda. 
Introduction of butterfly species has not worked well the other way either 
where only *Pieris rapae* and *Thymelicus lineola* have been successful in 
North America. I suspect from the occasional reports of *Agalis urticae*, 
*Inachis io* and *Danaus chrysippus* from the NE US, that there have been 
numerous covert attempts to enrich our fauna by butterfly gardeners (after 
all they do it with plants all the time). It is a wonder that none of these 
species have taken up residence.
...............Chris Durden

At 12:12 AM 12/14/2001 +0000, you wrote:


>It is illegal to release Monarchs in the UK. I don't know about the
>Republic of Ireland. (As an aside it is nice to see people saying Britain
>and Ireland not "England")
>
>The reason for this is that the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act prohibits
>the release of any kind of animal not normally resident here.
>It is also illegal to release a list of animals which aren't native but which
>have become established. This peculiar list contains such oddities as
>Mongolian Gerbils and Red Necked Wallabies.
>
>Yes, a Monarch here is a really big deal. We get them coming in in the
>Autumn (or Fall as you say) after storms. They are associated with influxes
>of rare american birds.
>
>As for butterfly releases generally. There is a provision of the 1981 Act 
>which
>prevents landowners, or occupiers carrying out certain damaging activities
>on important wildlife sites. (In every case I have encountered this includes
>introducing wildlife not normally found on the site.)
>
>This year a new act the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CROW Act)
>extended this provision to include third parties. I believe that the
>CROW Act doesn't apply to Scotland.
>There is also a prohibited list of insects which it is forbidden to
>breed without a special licence. This includes the Gypsy Moth.
>
>As for Chris' comments on the Black Veined white  (Aporia crataegi)
>This disapeared in the 1920s after an unexplained contraction in range.
>Several attempts have been made to reintroduce it. One of the most
>notable was the attempt by Sir Winston Churchill. All have failed.
>I believe the Black Veined White was on the prohibited list for a while
>as it can feed off fruit trees.
>
>It may be a contentious issue but research has shown that butterfly
>introductions rarely work. In one case discouraging this practice
>has been written into the Action plan to conserve one of our protected
>species because of the problems which this practice can cause to the
>conservation of the species.
>
>
>--
>Neil Jones- Neil at nwjones.demon.co.uk http://www.nwjones.demon.co.uk/
>"At some point I had to stand up and be counted. Who speaks for the
>butterflies?" Andrew Lees - The quotation on his memorial at Crymlyn Bog
>National Nature Reserve



 
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