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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Richard Klim" data-source="post: 1433573" data-attributes="member: 773">I strongly believe that, as a general principle, we should recognise a moral obligation to eradicate any alien introductions wherever there is still the possibility to do so within a realistic budget, without necessarily waiting for conclusive evidence of adverse impacts on native species.Of course efforts to control invasive species (especially cute ones) frequently encounter sentimental opposition from the general public.  But I'm rather disillusioned that so many well-informed birders, usually amongst the foremost supporters of global conservation initiatives, seem to take this narrow and emotional view.  Why is it acceptable to control Japanese Knotweed or American Mink, but not Ruddy Duck?So what if a vagrant North American Ruddy Duck had arrived here?  In the absence of an introduced population, it would have had minimal chances of finding a breeding partner and would not have instigated a potential conservation disaster.  But given the mess that we've created, any genuine vagrant Ruddy Duck would clearly now be regarded as a legitimate target anyway (even if we were somehow aware of its provenance).Richard</blockquote>