Shanghai Zoo takes in stray iguana

• Source: Global Times
• [08:31 September 02 2010]
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By Zheng Yunying

Experts said Wednesday that more attention needs to be paid to the situation of wild animals in the city, after the Shanghai Zoo took in another stray iguana.

Authorities are unclear as to whether the iguana, which was the third one of its kind found on the loose in Jiading district since last September, escaped its owner, or was abandoned.

According to Wu Weichun, director of the Amphibian and Reptile House of Shanghai Zoo, the largest animal-keeper in the city takes in about 20 reptiles of a foreign species every year.

"About one-third of them are donated by owners who no longer want them, and the rest are like the iguana, found as strays on the street," he told the Global Times Wednesday.

Wu said that the iguana, which originates from the US and Brazil, could eventually pose a threat to the ecological balance, if more strays invade the area.

"We've found more of them in our waters, and they've been eating the fish, disturbing the ecological chain," he said.

Wu said that pet owners of exotic or wild pets in the city, who legally require a special license for the animals, are mostly to blame for the problem.

"Most owners don't know how to take care of these pets, and end up letting them go, or the animals manage to escape on their own," he said.

Wu added that such cases have been putting gradual stress on local resources, as zoos are among the few places capable of sheltering the wild animals.

Meanwhile, the head of the Shanghai Wild Animal Protection and Administration Station, surnamed Pei, said that while more should be done to enforce regulations, it is easier said than done.

"Once such animals are smuggled through onto the market, it's hard to catch those who are behind the illegal sale of the animals," he told the Global Times Wednesday. "Most times, we get tipped off after the animals have been already sold, so our hands are tied."