U.S. Border Fence Seen Harming Ocelots, Butterflies
by Trey Granger
Published on July 25th, 2007
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Check out this Environmental News Network story about the potential of a border fence between Texas and Mexico affecting the well-being of the area’s wildlife. The area between Fronton, Texas and Roma, Texas has already been cut up by farming and urban sprawl, but still contains 300 species of butterflies and 500 different birds.
“Animals at risk of local extinction include the U.S. population of the ocelot, a wild cat that is down to a few dozen animals, and several species of birds. Rare native plants such as sabal palm trees are down to a few isolated patches.”
The issues of illegal immigration and borders will no doubt continue to play out in the upcoming Presidential debates and United States foreign policy. The Nature Conservatory of Texas and the Valley Nature Center have already gotten involved, with the precedent that a border fence in South Africa has already been taken down for conservation reasons.
