Invasive species

What’s going on?

Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) wreak havoc on biodiversity.

From strangling the successful growth of native plants and shrubs and infiltrating waterways to decimating native populations and changing the food chain, the damage can be disastrous. Their introduction, whether intentional or otherwise, can have far reaching effects and financial costs to the detriment of the farming industry.

Many INNS are introduced via imports.

Accidental introduction is to be expected when we import and move large quantities of organic matter as a routine part of the industry. And as the global food supply chain becomes ever more reliant on international trade, these instances become more commonplace.

This is also a contributor to the spread of new diseases, such as Bovine TB and foot and mouth disease.

Diseases that affect our crops and animals can decimate populations that have no resilience against them. If the spread can be stemmed, the resulting costs to prevent future spread and outbreaks become absorbed by annual farming costs across entire industries.

Some also consider the pervasive monocrops and monocultures themselves to be INNS. Not only are they more susceptible to invasive disease, the process of replacing diversity with one species is so unnatural it becomes a threat.

INNS cause detriment to biodiversity on land, sea and in the air. They also increase issues of water management. For example, invasive plants such as Japanese knotweed cause blockages in waterways, which can result in flooding.