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.
The much loved pet could become an invasive species and destroy an entire eco-system, said scientists at CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB).
Stray cats and dogs are considered among the worst invasive species in the world and are responsible for killing scores of native birds and terrestrial animals annually. 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.
