[Pollinator] SF Examiner: S.F. floats ban on releasing bred butterflies

[Jennifer Tsang]

 <http://www.sfexaminer.com/> San Francisco - The Examiner

 <http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/IssueArchives?issue=2639294>
December 03, 2013 


S.F. floats ban on releasing bred butterflies 


By  <http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/ArticleArchives?author=2124740>
Joshua Sabatini

 
<http://www.sfexaminer.com/imager/monarch-butterfly/b/original/2639877/4b1f/
butterfly.jpg> monarch butterfly

.         Commercial breeding of butterflies is a multimillion-dollar
business; a single monarch butterfly, above, can reportedly sell for about
$10.

San Francisco could become the first major city to outlaw the release of
commercially bred butterflies as the practice that took off nationwide in
the mid-1990s persists at weddings, funerals and other special events.

While the release of butterflies is a meaningful sight to behold, it all
comes with potential environmental hazards. To local urban lepidopterist
Liam O'Brien, the act is inhumane and poses a detriment to species, such as
the prized monarchs, that are on the decline. Lepidoptery deals in the study
and collection of moths and butterflies.

"They are not creatures to be owned. They are not party favors for the human
circus," O'Brien said. "We all know the exultation of a butterfly release.
But it's really a hellacious relationship to nature."

He is among those calling on the Commission on the Environment to vote today
in favor of banning the release of commercially raised butterflies in San
Francisco. A ban would need to be approved by the Board of Supervisors to
become law.

O'Brien has been working on the effort since 2008, when he watched the
California Academy of Sciences release 500 monarch butterflies to mark the
opening of its Golden Gate Park home.

The proposal has pitted butterfly breeders against environmentalists. The
two sides have had a long-standing debate about the impacts commercially
bred butterflies can have on wild butterflies.

The North American Butterfly Association and the Bay Area's Bay Nature
Institute support the ban.

Jeffrey Glassberg, head of the North American Butterfly Association, said in
a letter that commercial breeding harms wild butterflies with the threat of
disease and genetic weakness, and it interferes with scientific studies.
Also, it's simply wrong to ship adult butterflies, he contends.

"Allowing the sale of butterflies creates a commercial market for
butterflies," Glassberg said. "Individual monarchs sell for about $10 each.
There have already been reports of individuals capturing monarchs at the
California overwintering sites to sell to the public."

Dale McClung, a spokesman for the 100-member International Butterfly
Breeders Association, refuted claims that the bred butterflies are harmful
and said they actually can have a benefit.

"If they disallow reintroduction they will actually be injuring the
butterfly population," McClung said. He added that a ban would be
unenforceable. "People are just going to order butterflies anyway."

A successful breeder can earn up to $250,000 annually, McClung said, and
commercial butterfly breeding is a multimillion-dollar industry. One of the
largest butterfly breeders, Swallowtail Farms in El Dorado, charges between
$85 and $95 per dozen monarchs.

Department of the Environment spokesman Guillermo Rodriguez said the
proposal is "commission driven," meaning it wasn't a recommendation from
department staff, and the department will wait for direction. Rodriguez said
proponents have started to meet with wedding and meeting planners who would
be most impacted.

"It's not a very big business in San Francisco," Rodriguez said.

Ban crazy in S.F.

City officials and agencies seem to have a tendency to propose - and often
pass - restrictions that make headlines for their unique goals.

--Owning an unneutered pit bull

--Cat declawing

--Feeding famed Telegraph Hill parrots

--Public nudity

--Pet sales, including goldfish*

--Toys in Happy Meals

--Segways on sidewalks

--Tobacco sales at pharmacies

--Soda in vending machines on city property

--Styrofoam to-go containers

*Proposed but not adopted

Sincerely,

 

Jennifer Tsang

Marketing Director

Pollinator Partnership (P2) <http://www.pollinator.org/> 

423 Washington St. 5th Fl.

San Francisco, CA 94111

T: 415.362.1137

F: 415.362.3070

SHARElogoText_Signature_FINAL

 

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