Posted by:
Gary N
at Fri Dec 5 22:04:21 2003 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Gary N ]
Richard, some species, especially amphibians, may be more susceptible to introduced diseases than others. We can't know for sure, so it's in the best interests of our wildlife to prohibit any release of captive animals into the wild.
It is commonly reported that upper respiratory tract disease in wild desert tortoises was spread due to the release of infected captives:
http://www.tortoise-tracks.org/publications/jacobson.html
Also, a number of viruses and the Chytrid fungus are suspected of killing off large numbers of amphibians around the world. Nothing has been proven yet, but releasing potentially-infected captives into the wild or moving them from one site to another only increases the risks of spreading such a disease and should never be done. In fact, it is recommended that anyone visiting high-altitude amphibian sites in California use bleach to clean off their boots to avoid any chance of spreading the fungus.
http://www.usgs.gov/amphibians.html
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Re: Releasing animals and spreading disease - Gary N, Fri Dec 5 22:04:21 2003