The Department of Animal Welfare of the Santa Cruz City Council, through the Neotropic Foundation, has acted so far this year on 132 occasions, locating and removing a total of 465 exotic animals from homes and streets. These invasive species, in addition to causing serious problems for the environment, suffer changes in their behavior as they do not have the same conditions as their habitat of origin, which prevents them from adapting again and surviving when they are returned to their places of origin, which is why which remain hosted by the Neotropic Foundation, the only one of its kind in the Canary Islands.
The mayor of Santa CruzJosé Manuel Bermúdez, highlights the work of the Neotropic Foundation “for being the only recovery center for exotic fauna on the Islands, which is responsible for rescuing and caring for pets of this type that have been abandoned or confiscated due to illegal trafficking.” and makes a “call for responsibility” in the face of the high number of “invasive species that have been removed from the natural, rural and urban environment, and that are a threat to native species.” For his part, the Councilor for Animal Welfare, Carlos Tarife, indicates that “the number of exotic species collected so far this year is very high, so it is necessary to continue raising awareness among the population of the risk of introducing animals of this nature. guy in Santa Cruz.” He assures the councilor that “having an animal classified as exotic as a pet can trigger very serious problems, and of course, actions that require a lot of effort and a lot of investment, since they destroy many animal and plant species.”
The list of exotic animals collected so far this year in the capital includes everything from Kramer’s parakeets, parakeets and countless varieties of parrots; even freshwater turtles from Florida and China, false tortoises, guinea pigs, chinchillas, etc.
However, the highlight has been the 377 specimens of crayfish detected in several ponds in the García Sanabria park. The Animal Welfare area decided to remove them because it is a potentially invasive species included in the list of those of concern to the EU that reproduces very easily and deteriorates the environment.
The Department of Animal Welfare and the Neotropic Foundation have opted to use five specimens of European eel in the pools of the García Sanabria Park ponds to control this plague of crayfish.
