News • Good Food Trade Campaign
Brexit deals could lead to influx of invasive plant and animal species
New trade routes formed after UK leaves the EU could leave Britain inundated with invasive species. According to Wildlife and Countryside Link last year invasive species cost Britain over £2billion.
Changes to trade agreements and bio security measures post-Brexit increases the risk of more ‘nature invaders’ getting through borders.
A coalition of conservation charities - headed by Wildlife and Countryside Link who are part of the Sustain alliance - are calling on the government to act now to prevent spiralling costs. They ask that more preventative work is done by the Government’s Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and the Environment Agency.
In 2016/17 the Government in England spent £922,000 in relation to invasive non-native species. This forms less than 0.5% of the £217million expenditure of the APHA5, with just £335,000 spent on early warning and rapid response measures.
The six invasive species which cause the most damage in the UK are: Japanese knotweed, New Zealand flatworms, Grey squirrels, mink, Australian swamp stonecrop and North American Signal crayfish.
Camilla Morrison-Bell, Chair of the Invasive Non-Native Species Group at Wildlife and Countryside Link, said:
"The number of nature invaders setting foot in the UK is set to grow. Not only can they wreak havoc on our rivers, seas, and countryside, they can cause devastating damage to buildings, infrastructure and produce. Prevention is better than cure, so we need better resourcing for the work of enforcement agencies, backed up with legislation, to tackle the increasing nature invader threat.”
Sustain are working for a positive food and farming policy post-Brexit.
Published Tuesday 27 March 2018
Good Food Trade Campaign: Campaigning for good trade that benefits people and the planet at home and overseas.
