ABSTRACT
The distrust of alien species indeed has some rational grounds. There are certainly many instances of the introduction of species from other biotopes causing significant problems, and in England at present there are problems with Rhododendron ponticum, Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam and giant hogweed, not to mention the grey squirrel and the mink. Some of these should be notified to the authorities. However, reasonable concern over specific cases frequently overflows into nationalistic fervour and a kind of eco-fascism that is exacerbated by island status. Quite frequently a species is reported as ‘extinct’ when it has merely disappeared from the UK. In France or Germany the concept of manning barricades to prevent the invasion of alien species would be more obviously stupid. Such universal spread of species, including of course viruses, is a result of globalisation – not only accidental but in many cases deliberate, where species are introduced for profit or for aesthetic pleasure. American farmers now rue the day that a few starlings were introduced into New York’s Central Park. This concept of a national nature is at its most severe, though with better cause than many, in Australasia, where the local flora and fauna have shown themselves to be particularly susceptible to invasion – though there is no sign yet of Australia banning sheep.
