Killer prawn that could harm animals and even humans invades Britain

-Mirror

Britain: We shell fight them on the beaches... the Government has warned that killer shrimp and other alien species are invading the UK’s ecosystems.

Parliament’s green watchdog highlighted the threat from the lethal flora and fauna, which it says are attacking these shores at a higher rate than ever before.

The likes of Japanese knotweed, North American signal crayfish, zebra mussels and killer shrimp can damage British plants, animals – and even human health, the Environmental Audit Committee heard.

Killer shrimps, or dikerogammarus villosus, can grow up to 3cm and originate from the Black Sea. They get their name from the fact that they kill even when they do not need to eat. Anglers coming into contact with giant hogweed, another species alien to Britain, have been left with painful swelling and rashes, while the pollen of common ragweed causes asthma.

The Asian hornet, which has yet to enter Britain, has killed six people in France.

Other alien species include rhododendrons and the grey squirrel, which cause £10million worth of damage to trees every year, according to the Country Land and Business Association.

In 2012, 1,875 foreign species were counted in the UK – 282 of which became “invasive” and cannot be eradicated.

The EAC is calling for the Government to be given new powers to eradicate invasive species before they become established.

Joan Walley, chair of the committee, said: “These invasive species can harm native wildlife, clog up our waterways, cause costly problems and even harm human health.

“It is too expensive to control or eradicate all of them, so we have to be smart and pick the fights we know we can win. We may just have to live with grey squirrels and rhododendrons in much of the UK.”