Invasive species: Australia v starlings

We've been covering the problem of invasive species a lot as it's one of the big issues that the UN's 2010 International Year of Biodiversity is designed to highlight.

In Western Australia (pictured below in dark orange), October is the start of starling trapping season. ABC now reports that this year, efforts to eradicate the species are finally meeting with tangible success. The highly adaptable European birds, introduced to the south of the Australia in the 1880s, are seen as an "extreme threat" to agriculture, the environment and the economy.

But eradicating invasive species isn't cheap. WA's anti-starling programme has a budget of $3 million. In addition to culling the birds, the state's Department of Environment and Food has a "pest hotline" where citizens can report sitings of any non-native species.

The harsh lesson for Ireland is that without investment, invasive species like the grey squirrel, Japanese knotweed, and (in a recent development) the Asian clam can not be combated effectively.