* [[Animal rights]] activists, in the name of defending animals have broken into laboratories and released the animals thus "rescued" into the wild. If these "rescued" animals are non-native species they can become invasives, causing ecological harm from having been released and then multiplying in an ecosystem in which they lack natural enemies. This has happened, among other places, in the [[United Kingdom]] where non-native [[mink]] were released into the wild by animal rights activists. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1617919.stm] In addition, at least one case exists where [[vegetarian]] activists purchased [[fish]] with the intention of setting them free, releasing non-native sea lampreys into New Jersey's Passiac River. This same species has wreaked havoc on native species in the Great Lakes [http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/08/vegetarian_reli.php]. | * [[Animal rights]] activists, in the name of defending animals have broken into laboratories and released the animals thus "rescued" into the wild. If these "rescued" animals are non-native species they can become invasives, causing ecological harm from having been released and then multiplying in an ecosystem in which they lack natural enemies. This has happened, among other places, in the [[United Kingdom]] where non-native [[mink]] were released into the wild by animal rights activists. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1617919.stm] In addition, at least one case exists where [[vegetarian]] activists purchased [[fish]] with the intention of setting them free, releasing non-native sea lampreys into New Jersey's Passiac River. This same species has wreaked havoc on native species in the Great Lakes [http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/08/vegetarian_reli.php]. |