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Well, this is a vague and slippery slope. Go back far enough in most species' evolution and you'll probably find they were all "invasive" at some point. Given an opportunity, creatures will expand to take advantage of suitable habitat. I suspect you meant species that spread as a result of deliberate or particularly stupid, thoughtless human activity. This would include spread of infectious diseases; flu, Covid-19, you name it. They invade and establish themselves in new "habitats" (er, hosts) too. Humans just happened to be the vector.
I would selectively eliminate invasive species from non-native habitats. We can start with pythons in Florida, rats and cats on most islands, Emerald Ash Borer in North American, and so on.
Hence the word "selectively"
Yeah, take it too far and most North American mammals would be culled as they are descended from Asian ancestors who crossed the land bridge during the Ice Age. North American had its own fauna of different animals (the Pronghorn being the most notable survivor) that largely were replaced by the invaders, like bison and wolves, for instance. Go back further in time when South American was still separated, and you had an ecosystem of giant sloths and terror birds, not jaguars and llama.
Last edited by westsideboy; 07-19-2023 at 02:21 PM..
Squirrels. Nothing but rats with bushy tails. Nothing good about them. They invade gardens, chew up anything in the yard, eat up any nut crops and others.
(I figured this is the best section to start this thread.)
I'm seeing about more human deaths caused by alligators & bears. If it was up to you, which animals would be totally extinct? Now I like animals as much as the next person, but the ones who can always easily kill humans are another story & I wouldn't careif they were gone from this earth. & notice that they'll quickly kill an animal if it's killed a person. It's like an animal's life is more valued than a human's because we'd face consequences by law for harming/killing animals. If it were up to me, there would be no more of these animals on earth:
Now I won't say sharks because their home is the ocean & people don't really have to surf, etc., but of course you can't tell certain people that. But, it's personally fine w/ me to add sharks on the list too.
Now I know, technically people will say many things against it such as:
- the reason bears, cougers, & maybe some alligators come into residential areas is because we're doing construction & their habitat is dwindling.
- well not all humans are more valuable than animals. What about all the prisoners who are murderers, rapists, etc. who contribute nothing to society?
- how scientists may be doing research on certain animals that may one day cure diseases/save us
Well, I'm not going to think about that. Certain animals just do no good. They just cause turmoil. & a human life should be more valuable than any animal's.
Gophers and moles.
And, as mentioned above, COUGERS. Yes, cougars can be a real handful, at times. Their habitat seems to be upscale bars and residential areas...
I preface this by saying I have spent an extensive amount of time in remote areas of the lower 48, staying out for many months at a time over the past 40 years. The longest I stayed out was 19 months some 40 years ago.
In my estimation predators are increasing their range and are getting more aggressive toward humans. I have had negative experiences with cougars in NM, SD, black bears in NC, SC, NM, AR, TN, MO, CO, SD, VA, WI, gators in FL, GA, NC, LA and boars/hogs in AR and TX and coyotes and wild dogs in numerous locations.
As opposed to the OP would not like to see them extinct as much as exterminated in the lower 48 and possibly held on reserves or in zoos. But realistically with today's dna technology we no longer need vast breeding populations to maintain a healthy collection of specimens and can reduce populations down to a captive specimens only.
Moreover I believe you should be able to kill any and all animals on your private property for any reason. This especially applies to ranchers.
By the way, for those who buy the hype of bear sprays might want to digest this link before a bear digests you.
Grizzly bears - there is a reason native Americans feared them and killed them whenever they could. These creatures are savage killers and no human is safe around them. And they are crafty. There fur is awesome for coats.
Mountain lions - these are terribly sneaky ambush killers no human is safe from -I almost got attacked in NM in the Gila in 1983, fortunately my spider-sense warned me and I scared it off by firing .38 into a tree. I had one rush me in the back Hills in SD and then stop short when I twirled my 6 foot hiking staff in a fast figure 8 pattern. I ate some once in Mexico - it is delicious - yummy.
Black bears - always dangerous, and cooperative hunters, much smarter than you might think. At a minimum the states like Iowa who did not have them should eradicate any that enter and stay bear free. States like TN, VA need to seriously reduce populations. But I would not care if every last one of these killers was eradicated from the lower 48. One stalked me for 3 days in Caney Creek AR. It seems my bear spray was more of an appetizer than a deterrent. It finally charged me, I put three .38 in it and that deterred it. Rangers then hunted it down, it had been terrorizing campers in the area and they had shut down many campgrounds. I had hiked in from a road so I missed the postings. I have had many negative black bear encounters over the years. They are killers.
Gators- please, these things are menace- period. I had many gator problems in FL, LA, NC, and GA. Kill every last one in human areas. The meat is excellent and they make nice shoes.
Wild hogs. Every last one of these killers should be eradicated. I have had to shoot 4 over the years in self defense and defend myself with my staff many times. So much so, I acquired a WWI French bayonet to afix to it when I hike in black bear or hog country. That gives me 8 feet of lethality between them and me and I can bring it into play immediately as my hands are already on it.
Pit Bulls. Incredibly dangerous, hard to kill. Most cities should regulate them out and it should be legal to shoot any off leash that are not on the owners private property.
Rattle snakes coral snakes etc. Kill them. Rattlers are ok eating.
Last edited by PossumMan; 07-20-2023 at 05:10 AM..
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Ticks & skeeters
