Move needed to prevent spread of deadly fungal disease via pet trade to the wild where it can wipe out salamander populations

The import of hundreds of thousands of live salamanders to the US each year should be banned to save wild salamanders from a deadly disease, scientists say.

They say the move is needed to stop the skin-eating fungal disease, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), from spreading via the pet trade to wild populations, where there is currently no effective way to control it.

The pathogen was identified in the Netherlands where it has been blamed for the extinction of yellow and black fire salamanders, and causing rapid salamander declines across Europe by eroding their skin and often proving fatal. It is believed to have originated in Asia.

Dr Vance Vredenburg of the University of California, Berkeley, the author of a paper published on Thursday which calls on the US Fisheries and Wildlife Service to implement an immediate ban, said: “Our study provides striking evidence that the introduction of Bsal to the US, the world’s salamander biodiversity hotspot, could be devastating.

“Because we have caught it early, the US has the opportunity to make a difference and lead the way in implementing conservation action and developing effective responses to wildlife emerging infectious diseases.”The study, published in the journal Science, highlights serious risks to wild salamanders in North America, which is home to 48% of the world’s 676 salamander species. Almost 2m of the lizard-like creatures have been imported to the US since 2005, with around 99% coming from Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Japan.

The spread of Bsal to North American wild salamanders could have wider environmental knock-on effects.

Vredenburg said: “They are the most abundant vertebrates in many North American ecosystems, and they are top predators of insects and invertebrates. They are also an important food source for larger predators, such as birds, mammals, and snakes.

“So if major losses of salamanders occur, we could experience degradation of healthy ecosystems, which could lead to issues beyond where they occur now.”

Dr John Wilkinson, science programme manager of the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust, welcomed the intervention but stopped short of calling for an outright ban on live imports, favouring stronger import controls instead.

“Of course something needs to be done, or it could be a catastrophe. Species allowed in should be captive-bred individuals and any entering the country must be tested for deadly diseases,” he said.

But previous efforts to ban the import of live salamanders have failed, and there are concerns that authorities may not act quick enough to impose tighter controls or a ban on imports for the lucrative pet trade.

Peter Jenkins, president of the Center for Invasive Species Prevention said, “The potential for bureaucratic delays is very real and worrisome, as Bsal could arrive within the USA any day. Unfortunately the US Fish and Wildlife Service regulatory authority and capacity for addressing wildlife pathogens are weak and barely adequate to the task of stopping Bsal.”

James Lewis, programme officer for the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s amphibians specialist group, called for further research into nascent but promising treatments for the disease, coupled with better trade controls.