Nuclear Mutant Flies Are Good For Africa?

D\monix writes "According to this article in Reuters, the International Atomic Energy Agency is going to start releasing massive numbers of tsetse flies "sterilized by a burst of radiation" into sub Saharan Africa in order to outnumber and thus eradicate the local fly population. My favorite quote? "The impact of the fly is difficult to exaggerate." You're damn right it is. Anyone else out there think pumping large numbers of mutant insects into the environment might be a bad idea?"

Comments

Sterilized is does not make it a "Mutant"

[Shivetya]

Sorry, but the over the top claim that these are mutant flies begs a response.

The idea is that after the attempt to eradicate with pesticide is used these sterile flies are released to compete with non-sterile flies for mating privledges. Since the mating window is short the time occupied by these sterile flies should help reduce the reproductive capability of the swarms.

Too many people die from the disease they carry, and ignorant ranting about it does these people a big disservice.

Unfortunately it is a very common tactic of the eco-terrorist groups to portray something in the harhest possible light even when they know they are lieing. Seems that sometimes they think their view is more important than the lives of the people who could be saved.

Drawbacks to eradicating the tsetse?

[codeButcher]

Shamelessly copied from: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/earth/stories/s11 64.htm :

1000 years ago Tsetse halted muslim migration south. Last century it plagued European colonial governments and today it impedes development of large areas . Some species affect humans, but many other species affect cattle and in a bad year can kill 100% of a herd. With Africa's spiralling population African govts, eg Kenya and Zimbabwe, are keen to control the fly so that land tsetse previously rendered unable to be cultivated can be developed. Scientists how sucessfully developed very environmentally benign ways of controlling the fly and have started projects with groups such as the Masai. Conservationists warn this ironically may harm the environment, by reducing the percentage of land set aside to preserve bio-diversity.

Seems to me that completely eradicating these species would be a bad thing for Africa's ecology and bio-diversity.

Re:Been done already for many years...

[coolgeek]

In California, I'd say releasing the sterile (by irradiation) Med Fly was preferable to spraying the entire human populations with Malathion. And apparently much more successful.