US plan to control Guam's snake population with toxic mice angers Peta

[Babette]

48. I currently live on Guam...

The snake population needs to be kept in check. Imagine hiking through a beautiful jungle- and it's completely silent. No birds are here to sing.

The native bird population is almost completely wiped out. There are no more kingfishers, megapodes, chichiricas or Mariana fruit doves here. The Guam flycatcher- found nowhere else- is extinct. The Guam ko'ko bird only exists because of captive breeding programs. The last Mariana Crow has been missing since last year, probably gone. There are still a few individuals on Rota, but they are not doing well. We do have some invasive species of birds- sparrows and francolins, and some birds that migrate through the area.

The Ecology of Bird Loss project (http://hsr3.web.rice.edu/) is studying the impact of removing native birds from their forests. Birds act as seed-dispersers and sometimes pollinators, so some species of trees are in decline. A decrease in bird population means an increase in spider populations.

Someone mentioned pigs upthread. Guam has a big problem with feral pigs. The pigs are destructive to farmer's fields and can be dangerous. Recently a dog belonging to a friend was disemboweled in his yard by a feral pig. (Luckily, the dog survived, but it was touch and go) My mother is afraid to go out to the avocado tree early in the morning because of the wild pigs. The pigs are not impacting the snake population at all, but are impacting the limestone forests and causing erosion.

The plan to drop poisoned mice is looked at with humor and horror here. Right now the program is in testing stage. I believe the mice will be dropped on Andersen South and the snake population monitored. If it works it will be tried over a larger area. No one likes the idea of having dead mice dropped on us, but no one likes the snakes. We certainly don't want other islands such as Saipan or Hawaii to lose their birds.