Canada: Albertans warned not to flush 'invasive' goldfish
Officials in western Canada are urging people not to flush their pet goldfish down the toilet because they're surviving and multiplying at an alarming rate.
Environmental officers in the province of Alberta say they've found goldfish the size of dinner plates in the region's storm ponds. Forty of the fish were pulled from a single pond in the north of the province earlier this year, the CBC News website reports. "That's really scary because it means they're reproducing in the wild, they are getting quite large and they are surviving the winters that far north," says Kate Wilson from Alberta's environment department. Goldfish are considered an invasive species in Canada, and the government is worried they could upset fragile local ecosystems.
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Alberta has good form when it comes to banishing non-native species. For decades the region has proudly declared itself "rat-free", meaning it has no resident rat population. Occasional infestations do occur, but the government recently set up a rat hotline for residents to report any rodent sightings.
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-33254630
