Invasive Invasion

Armored Catfish

This article is an example of a reoccurring problem that many places face. This species of catfish is one that out grew it aquarium in a suburban home and instead of disposing of it properly it was dumped into a local river. Now this non-native and invasive species is causing severe damage to local water basins in Florida. Much like the pythons in Florida this is all because someone grew tired of their "exotic" pet. I feel that there needs to be policy in affect to prevent such things from happening. I realize it would be hard to enforce restrictions of buying or selling of these invasive species but I think that anyone who buys such an animal should be put on a list that keeps track of their use of that animal and that they do not improperly dispose of the animal and introduce them into our water systems. Non-native species are a huge threat to our environment and our native species.