Releasing a Pet Koi--Is it Really Free? opus 979
| 7 November 2026 1242 Hours | | Pets, Biology, Conservation, Custom, Environment, Ethics, Ichthyology, Philosophy, Youth |
Releasing pets of all kinds is an old tradition.
In the children's book, 'Goodbye, Koi,' many questions arise.
The boy's family is moving from Hong Kong to Canada
And the pet koi 'must' be released into a public park pond.
This sounds like a reasonable solution in this case.
However, most pets are released into uncontrolled, wild situations.
This practice leads to many non-native introductions.
All of the little boy's emotions are understandable,
But this sort of story should also discuss the point of the ethics
Of releasing a non-native species into a foreign environment--
Not because of the pet's distress, but because of the greater
Concept of the terrible situation an introduction creates,
Which usually causes only biological chaos.
Look at the story of rats, Starlings, Red-Necked sliders,
Bullfrogs, pythons, domestic cats, Brown Tree Snakes on Guam,
Indian Mynas, Mallard ducks, carp, etc.
Now let's consider plant introductions: Water hyacinth,
Goat grass, star thistle, Cheatgrass, Medusahead,
Eucalyptus, Bermudagrass, Kudzu, etc.
These introductions cost millions of dollars to rectify,
Just because, in many cases, of mindless sentimentality.
Of course the boy's fears for his released pet are justified.
When I raised tropical fish outdoors,
I was always cognizant of their color variations:
Bright-colored fish were very often picked off by herons,
And larger fish were preyed upon by raccoons and skunks.
Before taking on a pet, one must think about the final consequences,
Understanding the whole environmental kaleidoscope!