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Entered2023.10.02 19:02 Modified2023.10.02 19:10
From the left, a savanna monitor lizard rescued in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do last August, a black kingsnake discovered near Gangnam Express Bus Terminal Line 3, and a kingsnake rescued in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul/Photo = National Animal Protection Information System Last August, a black kingsnake was discovered near Gangnam Express Bus Terminal Line 3. One black kingsnake was found at the bus terminal and in the villa-dense area of Gwangjin-gu. Kingsnakes can eat not only rodents and birds, but also other snakes, and black kingsnakes, as their name suggests, are characterized by their entire body being completely black. They mainly live in the southern part of the United States and northern Mexico, but they are popular as pets in Korea.
In the same month, an African savannah monitor lizard, also known as a ‘savannah monitor lizard’, appeared in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do. Savanna monitor lizards are classified as endangered species of wild animals and plants, but they are also popular reptiles as pets. This is becoming a problem as rare animals brought in as companion animals are abandoned. Some point out that measures are needed to prevent ecosystem disturbance or the spread of infectious diseases.
According to data received from the Ministry of Environment by People Power Party lawmaker Lim Ja, a member of the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee on the 2nd, the number of animals rescued from 2017 to August of this year was 101,195. The number of rescued animals increased from 9,830 in 2017 to 20,161 last year.
The types of rescued animals have also become more diverse. In 2017, there were 259 species, but last year, there were 317 species, an increase of about 22%. The most rescued species was the elk (10,424), followed by the turtle dove (5,234), the raccoon (5,006), the domestic pigeon (4,826), and the magpie (4,116). In particular, cases of discovery of invasive species have increased significantly. Over the past five years, 20 invasive species have been identified for the first time in Korea’s natural environment. There are 11 species of insects, 4 species of reptiles, and 1 species each of arachnids, fish, mammals, gastropods, and crayfish. In addition to the black kingsnake, rare species appear every year, including the striped California kingsnake last year, the bearded dragon and Sudanese plate lizard in 2021, and the savannah monitor lizard in 2020.
In particular, many of them were found in residential parks or apartment complexes, raising the possibility that they were raised as pets and then abandoned.
Rep. Lim Ja said, “There are concerns that curiosity about breeding rare species may lead to threats to the domestic ecosystem,” and added, “We need to prepare countermeasures through research on the ecological impact of exotic species along with strengthening crackdowns and sanctions on illegal abandonment.”
Kim So-yeon, Hankyung.com reporter [email protected]
2023-10-02 10:02:39
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