SAVE the parasites

[Ian Barger]

On 13 Apr 94 12:13:24 BST,
  <rupp at vax.ox.ac.uk> writes:

>SAVE THE PARASITES!
>
>Parasites have a very bad public image. Thousands of organisations combat them
>and would be quite happy to drive them to extinction. That's unfair! Why should
>high-ranking values such as Biodiversity, The Right to Existence, Gene Pool and
>Pharmacological Potential be reserved for plants, herbivores and carnivores?
>These are merely other ways to steal energy and building blocks from other life 
>forms.
>
>Is there any study on endangered parasites? ;-)
>
Despite the efforts of thousands of parasitologists, remarkably few 
parasites appear to have been driven to extinction. Job Security Rules OK!

In the northern part of NSW, Australia, 2 formerly pathogenic nematode 
parasites of sheep, Oesophagostomum columbianum and Dictyocaulus filaria 
appear to have been eradicated by control programs largely directed against 
other species, as well as partial eradication, on a farm-by-farm basis, of 
the dreaded Haemonchus contortus, using closantel. See Barger, Hall & Dash 
(1991) Australian Veterinary Journal 68:347-348.

  Ian Barger                       
  CSIRO Division of Animal Health  
  Pastoral Research Laboratory 
  Private Mail Bag                          Phone: +61 67 76 1430
  Armidale NSW 2350, Australia              Fax:   +61 67 76 1333