One day, a bitch, ready to whelp, pleaded earnestly with a shepherd for a safe spot where she could litter. When the shepherd agreed, she again pleaded with him that she may use the spot to raise her puppies. Again, the shepherd consented. Until finally, the Bitch, now protected by the bodyguard of her young who were grown up and able to defend themselves, asserted her exclusive right to the spot and would not permit the shepherd to approach. Aesop

Under British law, the importation of food/meat goods and plants is governed by a set of restrictions setting out: firstly, a number of categories into which the individual food and plant items fall; secondly, what is allowed or forbidden, and from which countries; finally the items allowed, and in what quantities. The National Farmers' Union states on its website that recent surveys show that most travellers are totally oblivious to the laws regarding plant or food importation.

HM Customs & Excise are just as entitled to seize an excess of such goods as they are smuggled alcohol or tobacco.

Foot and Mouth disease, Dutch Elm disease and Brown Rot are among the most common problems that both the Farming Industry and the General Environment alike have had to endure in this country at one time or another.

The matter of importing plant and animal life, though, is much deeper and more serious. To illustrate, I have researched the facts surrounding two examples of which you will most likely be fairly familiar.

African Killer Bees

In 1956, a group of Brazilian Scientists imported a number of 'Africanised Honey Bees' (AHB) for experimental purposes. These Bees could produce as much as five times more honey than the native ones. The idea, then, was to interbreed them with European Honey Bees (EHB) hoping that the EHBs mild manner would predominate in this new hybrid, whereas the AHBs' superior honey-making ability would prevail.

The lifestyle of AHBs is basically the same as that of their European cousins in all manner of speaking, and it is difficult for all but an expert to tell them apart (they are slightly smaller); and even though their venom is no more poisonous nor potent, they are known as 'killer bees'. The reason? Well there are a number.

People and animals who unwittingly stray into the territory of these bees will naturally initiate an attack, but so too will everyday noises and vibrations from vehicles, people, etc. so it is not necessary to disturb the hive itself.

Once disturbed, the bees will attack much more viciously and in greater numbers, and will pursue their enemy for a much greater distance. The colonies will remain agitated for up to 24 hours, attacking people and animals.

The Brazilian imports escaped quarantine in 1957, and the much milder Brazilian climate allowed them to thrive, swarming wildly and extending their range north east at a rate of between 150-200 miles per year.

They proliferated as much as they did because AHBs are much less selective about their nesting places than EHBs. They will nest in anything - sheds, old tyres, abandoned cars, and so on. They also interbred with the natives, passing on to them their aggressive tendencies.

About 1,000 South Americans have been killed to date as a result of attacks by the imported bees. The problem is of course still ongoing, as now the USA struggles to keep some sort of control over their rapid spread.

In 1990 the bees reached Texas, and a man there, Jesus Diaz, was attacked while mowing his lawn. He was stung eighteen times and was taken to Hospital.

In 1993, another man in Texas, 82-year-old Lino Lopez, was attacked and killed after forty stings.

Later that year, an 88 year-old Apache woman was stung to death in Arizona. She disturbed a colony in an abandoned building on her property.

America is largely a nation of immigrants, but a multi-racial bee society has proved very quickly to be somewhat impractical and rather dangerous.

Red and Grey Squirrels

Squirrels belong to the Rodent family, and the Red Squirrel is the only native squirrel of Britain. The Grey Squirrel is a native of Eastern North America, and in 1870 these squirrels were introduced to Cheshire (Henbury) and then to 28 more sites across the country.

They spread quickly, forcing the reds into retreat. No one is sure why this happened, as there is nothing to suggest that greys breed faster than reds. Some suggest that greys are carriers of diseases that affect only reds. The Parapox virus affects red squirrels a little like Myxomatosis affects rabbits. It dates as far back as 1227, but again there is nothing to suggest a peak of this in the presence of greys. Perhaps the greys are better at competing for food and space.

Reds thrive in Pine forests; hence there is still a large presence in Scotland, whereas the introduction of greys to a certain site in Ireland proved unsuccessful due to poor Woodland.

A record of squirrel sightings in Norfolk was kept between 1960 and 1981. To start with, there were no greys until 1964; but in less than twenty years the reds were almost all replaced by greys. The slow takeover, though, pointed out that, rather than there being a direct conflict between the two, it was a slow ecological development. The removal of greys on Anglesey has allowed the reds to breed and their young to survive, making it clear that it is the presence of greys that causes a real problem for the reds.

The natural habitat

To conclude, what these two important stories tell us is that if any form of life - be it plant or animal - is removed from its native environment (or natural habitat) and placed in an alien one it will not respect that environment nor will that environment respect it!

In comparison, given that we humans are just as much a part of nature as any plant or animal, humans are therefore not above the laws of nature. We have spent ages and generations adapting to the environment around us to the extent that we work with it; we have a relationship with it - as do other peoples of the world - each in its own particular way. Our behavioural patterns emerging from this development help uniquely to shape our societies.

So the displacement of millions from one part of the world to another is no more beneficial an experiment than trying to mix African killer bees with European honey bees, and the consequence of sharing with foreigners what is ours in our own territory will be likely to be similar to the plight of the Red Squirrels.

Look at how Immigrants have been unable to warm to British Society, forcing them to group together and build communities of their own in our towns and cities whilst driving the alienated British folk away - just as has been done to the Red Squirrels.

The damage done to one environment of course, affects its neighbouring environment which in turn will affect its neighbour and so on, causing a dangerous chain reaction such as that being felt by the whole Planet at the destruction of the Rain Forests.