A red swamp crayfish is seen in this photo provided by the Ministry of the Environment.

       The Mainichi Shimbun answers some common questions readers may have about keeping pet red swamp crayfish in Japan amid concerns they may be banned as household companions.

       Question: I've heard we won't be able to keep red swamp crayfish as pets. Is this true?

       Answer: In October, a Ministry of the Environment expert panel outlined a policy banning new imports and sales of red swamp crayfish and red-eared slider turtles. It also forbids releasing them into the wild. However, the ministry plans to let regular members of the public capture the creatures in the field, or continue keeping them as pets if they already have them at home. The ministry will soon reach a formal decision on the issue. It aims to submit to the ordinary session of the Diet in 2022 a revision bill on the Act on the Prevention of Adverse Ecological Impacts Caused by Designated Invasive Alien Species to include the new regulations.

       Q: What kind of law is it?

       A: The law came into effect in 2005 and aims to prevent the ecosystems innate to each region of Japan, human lives and agriculture, forestry and fisheries from being adversely affected by animals and plants brought into the nation from overseas. Under the law, about 160 species, including common snapping turtles and racoons, have so far been designated "invasive alien species" that could harm the environment. Their import and sale are prohibited, with offenders possibly facing a prison sentence or fine.

       Q: Why do red swamp crayfish and red-eared sliders need regulating?

       A: The two species, both native to the United States, are widely circulated in Japan as prizes at local festival stalls, among other occasions, and are popular household pets. But red swamp crayfish and red-eared sliders are both highly fertile, and they feed on aquatic bugs in rivers and ponds upon release into the wild. Due to cases in which regionally native species were driven to extinction, experts have called for new regulations on them.

       But the Environment Ministry does plan to allow people to continue keeping them as pets, because introducing a ban on them could actually cause disruption from owners disposing of them in large numbers.

       Q: Will an amended law be effective?

       A: Red swamp crayfish and red-eared sliders can be spotted in the wild in Japan, and they are confirmed to inhabit all of the country's 47 prefectures. But it's not clear what level of efficacy the planned regulations could have, and the only way to deal with the species is to steadily continue exterminating them.

       (Japanese original by Toshiyuki Suzuki, Science & Environment News Department)

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