也不知道該不該放在這里。。。我作為記者的第一篇報導， ...

文法的東西我還沒空檢查，大家將就看吧。。。

For many Hong Kong people, invasive species are nasty things like fire ant that gives a painful bite, or Mile-a-minute Weed which is an exotic plant killer. But few people knew that on the busy Tong Choi Street, in the Shing Mun Reservoir and fish tanks in their flats lives one of the world’s worst 100 invasive species.

Tiny and cute, easy to care and cheap to buy, juvenile Brazilian Turtle (Red-eared Slider) is an ideal pet for many Hong Kong people. But in the wild it is an aggressive competitor to their local counterparts and a fierce predator to other animals.

“When there is a food source available…They [the Red-eared Slider] will aggressively go after food sources in a way that other turtles might not [be able to compete with them].” said Dr. Nancy Karraker, a reptile and amphibian expert in the University of Hong Kong.

The endangered Reeves’ Terrapin is a possible victim in Hong Kong. (Common name “Grass Turtle” or “Pearl Turtle”)
“I’ve been working in streams here for two years and I’ve seen three native turtles here in two years. That’s pretty sad.”, said Dr. Karraka
Since the Red-eared Sliders became established in the city’s country side during 1980s, biologists found that population of native Reeve’s Terrapins has been dropping ever since. As the Red-eared Slider is more aggressive than Reeve’s Terrapin and the two species have similar habitat and diet, it is considered as one of the culprits for the decline of the Reeves’ Terrapins.

On the other hand, the Red-eared Slider predates young birds by pulling them under the water and drowning them. It also eats tadpoles, frogs and salamanders.

Due to the aggressive nature of this species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources regard it as one of the world’s worst 100 invasive species and many countries adopted policies to control it.
In Australia, the Red-eared Slider is banned national-wide. Some states even consider its possession as a criminal offence.
In Europe, its trade is banned by the European Union.
In United States, its sales are also banned in some states because it interbreeds with the native turtles and genetically eliminate them.

But in Hong Kong, the Red-eared Slider still gets a green light.

According to Ms Leung Hoi Gok, a conservation officer of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), a species will be permitted in the territory if they had a specific use. “They [Red-eared Sliders] have the permit in Hong Kong…We assume the owners will not release them and will keep them until they are dead”, she said, “And they are mainly for selling pet but not for releasing into the wild.”

The Department’s view is proven correct by Yeung Po Shan, who has kept her Red-eared Sliders for many years. “I’ve never considered dumping my turtles…I will continue to look after them until they are dead.”, she said.

But survey shows that the Red-eared Sliders are widely distributed all over the city’s country side. These places include major reservoirs such as Shing Mun, Pokfulam and Aberdeen. They are also spotted in small ponds and wetlands scatter across the city.

“I had dumped Red-eared sliders when I was kid,” said Yeung Ka Man, the chairperson of Hong Kong Herptian Association. “I dumped them because my parents told me it is kind to do so and I didn’t know what they will do to the environment.” he added.

Dr. Karrakar said that the lack of knowledge of the turtles is the main reason for people to release them.
“People don’t know they can live up to 20 to 30 years. They think they are just like rabbits or mouse that lives couple of years… Most people won’t want to make this kind of commitment to that turtle.”, she said.

To prevent the situation from deteriorating, Dr. Karraka suggests aquatic shops hand out factsheets about the animals they sold and explain the details of them to the customers clearly.

But Benk Chan, a salesperson of an aquatic pet shop in Mong Kok, held an opposing view.
“During the rush hours, when the shop is full of customers and we have limited manpower, do you think it is possible that we explain the habits of a species to them one by one?”, he said.

In fact, the Red-eared Slider is just the tip of an iceberg. According to Dr. Karraka, the freshwater systems she studied here is full of invasive species that were released by human from their aquarium such as Mosquito fish and Swordtail fish.

“When I went out netting fish in Lamma Island [for research]…Within the whole bunch of ponds all over the place I can’t found a single native fish,”, she said,
“So that’s not just the turtles but it just gives an example of we have here right now.”

While various efforts have been made by AFCD to control invasive species such as Mile-a-minute Weed, house grows and red fire ants, their counterparts in the pet market are still free.

Yet, Hong Kong’s door remains open to them.文法的東西我還沒空檢查，大家將就看吧。。。

For many Hong Kong people, invasive species are nasty things like fire ant that gives a painful bite, or Mile-a-minute Weed which is an exotic plant killer. But few people knew that on the busy Tong Choi Street, in the Shing Mun Reservoir and fish tanks in their flats lives one of the world’s worst 100 invasive species.

Tiny and cute, easy to care and cheap to buy, juvenile Brazilian Turtle (Red-eared Slider) is an ideal pet for many Hong Kong people. But in the wild it is an aggressive competitor to their local counterparts and a fierce predator to other animals.

“When there is a food source available…They [the Red-eared Slider] will aggressively go after food sources in a way that other turtles might not [be able to compete with them].” said Dr. Nancy Karraker, a reptile and amphibian expert in the University of Hong Kong.

The endangered Reeves’ Terrapin is a possible victim in Hong Kong. (Common name “Grass Turtle” or “Pearl Turtle”)
“I’ve been working in streams here for two years and I’ve seen three native turtles here in two years. That’s pretty sad.”, said Dr. Karraka
Since the Red-eared Sliders became established in the city’s country side during 1980s, biologists found that population of native Reeve’s Terrapins has been dropping ever since. As the Red-eared Slider is more aggressive than Reeve’s Terrapin and the two species have similar habitat and diet, it is considered as one of the culprits for the decline of the Reeves’ Terrapins.

On the other hand, the Red-eared Slider predates young birds by pulling them under the water and drowning them. It also eats tadpoles, frogs and salamanders.

Due to the aggressive nature of this species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources regard it as one of the world’s worst 100 invasive species and many countries adopted policies to control it.
In Australia, the Red-eared Slider is banned national-wide. Some states even consider its possession as a criminal offence.
In Europe, its trade is banned by the European Union.
In United States, its sales are also banned in some states because it interbreeds with the native turtles and genetically eliminate them.

But in Hong Kong, the Red-eared Slider still gets a green light.

According to Ms Leung Hoi Gok, a conservation officer of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), a species will be permitted in the territory if they had a specific use. “They [Red-eared Sliders] have the permit in Hong Kong…We assume the owners will not release them and will keep them until they are dead”, she said, “And they are mainly for selling pet but not for releasing into the wild.”

The Department’s view is proven correct by Yeung Po Shan, who has kept her Red-eared Sliders for many years. “I’ve never considered dumping my turtles…I will continue to look after them until they are dead.”, she said.

But survey shows that the Red-eared Sliders are widely distributed all over the city’s country side. These places include major reservoirs such as Shing Mun, Pokfulam and Aberdeen. They are also spotted in small ponds and wetlands scatter across the city.

“I had dumped Red-eared sliders when I was kid,” said Yeung Ka Man, the chairperson of Hong Kong Herptian Association. “I dumped them because my parents told me it is kind to do so and I didn’t know what they will do to the environment.” he added.

Dr. Karrakar said that the lack of knowledge of the turtles is the main reason for people to release them.
“People don’t know they can live up to 20 to 30 years. They think they are just like rabbits or mouse that lives couple of years… Most people won’t want to make this kind of commitment to that turtle.”, she said.

To prevent the situation from deteriorating, Dr. Karraka suggests aquatic shops hand out factsheets about the animals they sold and explain the details of them to the customers clearly.

But Benk Chan, a salesperson of an aquatic pet shop in Mong Kok, held an opposing view.
“During the rush hours, when the shop is full of customers and we have limited manpower, do you think it is possible that we explain the habits of a species to them one by one?”, he said.

In fact, the Red-eared Slider is just the tip of an iceberg. According to Dr. Karraka, the freshwater systems she studied here is full of invasive species that were released by human from their aquarium such as Mosquito fish and Swordtail fish.

“When I went out netting fish in Lamma Island [for research]…Within the whole bunch of ponds all over the place I can’t found a single native fish,”, she said,
“So that’s not just the turtles but it just gives an example of we have here right now.”

While various efforts have been made by AFCD to control invasive species such as Mile-a-minute Weed, house grows and red fire ants, their counterparts in the pet market are still free.

Yet, Hong Kong’s door remains open to them.