Nature MoE introduces new rules on alien species in funny Youtube video

[thomas]

The Ministry of the Environment, in cooperation with WoW Kitsunezaru, an environment-minded YT influencer, introduced Japan's new regulations on alien species in a funny Youtube video. Okuda Naohisa, director general of the ministry's Nature Conservation Bureau, has "mutated" into a red-eared slider turtle to raise public awareness about the dangers of releasing non-native species into nature.

In Japan, red-eared slider turtles have been familiar to people as house pets. According to the Environment Ministry, an estimated 1.6 million red-eared sliders had been kept as pets in 1.1 million households as of 2019. But it is no easy job to look after the animals. First, red-eared sliders have a relatively long life, spanning around 20 to 40 years. Newborn turtlets are just around 3 centimeters long each, but they grow to become 20 to 30 cm in length, requiring larger tanks to keep them. If the owner finds it difficult to continue keeping them as pets due to illness or other reasons, the Environment Ministry advises them to kill the turtles. The history of red-eared sliders in Japan dates back to the late 1950s, when they were imported from the United States as pets. Their turtlets were popular at festival stalls, and the alien reptile made its way across the country. However, after red-eared sliders that were abandoned or escaped went feral, the fertile animal began to threaten Japan's native turtle species, as well as consume waterweed, aquatic insects and little fish, adversely impacting domestic ecosystems.

Japan bureaucrat turns into YouTube 'mutant' turtle to tell of new rules on alien species - The Mainichi

TOKYO -- A high-ranking official at Japan's Ministry of the Environment has

mainichi.jp

It's just sad that the only alternative to setting them free is to kill them (as recommended by the Nature Conservation Bureau).

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Click here for the Youtube video.