Podcast Episode 255: North America’s Invasive Species Double Standard
In this episode of the Wild Fish and Game Podcast, Justin Townsend and Adam Berkelmans close out their multi-part invasive species series by diving into the uncomfortable truth at the center of the entire conversation: North Americans don’t judge invasive species consistently. We celebrate some, despise others, and ignore ecological facts when those facts don’t match our cultural stories. From axis deer and pheasants to feral hogs, swans, and carp, this episode unpacks how perception, economics, aesthetics, and tradition shape the way we decide which invasive species get a welcome mat and which get a kill order.
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Few topics in the outdoor world reveal our biases as sharply as invasive species. As Justin puts it early in the conversation, the core question is simple but loaded: “Why do we villainize some invasive species while celebrating others?” It’s a tension every hunter, angler, and conservationist recognizes, even if they’ve never articulated it out loud.
Axis deer in Texas and Hawaii? Universally praised as premium table fare. Feral hogs? Labeled “pests, problems, and biohazards.” Ring-necked pheasants enjoy near-iconic status in upland culture, yet mute swans and European starlings are either hated or fiercely protected depending on who you ask. As Justin summarizes, we’re dealing with a “wildly inconsistent” set of beliefs about what belongs on the land.
This episode breaks down the roots of that inconsistency across mammals, birds, and fish, and it turns out the most significant factor shaping public opinion isn’t ecology at all. It’s us.
The Mammal Divide: Heroes, Villains, and Economic Leverage
No group shows the double standard more clearly than mammals. Some introduced species, axis deer, sika deer, nilgai, Barbary sheep, are embraced so fully that many hunters forget (or ignore) their non-native status. “In Texas,” Adam notes, “axis deer are practically treated as a native game species.”
Yet feral hogs, despite being introduced the same way, are demonized nationwide.
The difference? Often, money, culture, or aesthetics.
Justin highlights how classifications vary by state, even for animals we assume are native. “Texas has been hesitant to classify some of their northwest elk herds as native,” he explains, “because that would change the status of elk throughout the state.” In other words, identity shapes management, a recurring theme throughout the episode.
Bison offer another example. In many states, they’re considered livestock, not wildlife. Colorado recently split them into two categories: agriculture and bison, including wild bison. As Justin puts it, “It brings up the fascinating question of what we consider ‘native’ when cattle themselves are invasive to North America.”
Adam takes the discussion further by examining feral horses, some of the most destructive large mammals on Western rangelands, yet also among the most culturally protected. “People really have an emotional response to wild horses,” he says. “Even when they’ve never owned a horse or seen one in person.”
This emotional attachment sparked intense backlash when they once discussed online horse population control. The reaction illustrated the heart of the problem: for many people, invasive wildlife is judged not by ecological impact, but by narrative.
Birds: Identity Crisis in the Skies
If mammals are inconsistent, birds might be the most philosophically tangled group of all.
Justin lays out the categories: celebrated upland birds (pheasants, Huns, chukar), loathed birds (starlings, house sparrows, pigeons), protected introductions (mute swans), and feral by-accident birds (peafowl, guinea fowl, feral chickens).
Despite pheasants being entirely non-native, they are framed as cultural icons, central to identity, tradition, and even state heritage. Many hunters consider them as American as whitetails.
Meanwhile, birds like starlings and sparrows are almost universally despised.
And then there are mute swans, highly destructive, aggressively territorial, and ecologically harmful. Yet they’re often shielded from management efforts purely because they’re beautiful. “We protect them because they’re graceful,” Adam says, “even when they’re pushing out native swans and ducks.”
Aesthetics also shape reactions to feral chickens in Hawaii and Key West. Justin describes noticing immediately that the chickens on both islands match the jungle fowl lineage. Their presence is tolerated (and sometimes celebrated) because they’re charming or picturesque. As Justin puts it, “Birds probably escape more easily than mammals. Someone bought one because it looked nice, and then it just arrived in the landscape.”
The point is clear: cultural perception outweighs ecological reality again and again.
Fish: The Most Loved and Hated Invaders
Fish reveal another contradiction. Some of the most beloved sportfish in North America, rainbow trout, brown trout, and brook trout outside their historical range, are technically invasive.
Yet they are deliberately stocked, fiercely defended, and elevated to near-spiritual status.
“Agencies and governments invest millions in stocking them,” Adam notes. “No one calls them invasive, even when they displace native cutthroat.”
But carp, snakeheads, and Asian carp? They’re branded as monsters.
Adam raises an important point: “Sometimes I think it’s even the name that causes public perception to shift. If snakeheads were called ‘jumping bass,’ would we hate them so much?”
Justin adds that American anglers often cling tightly to introduced fish because they grew up with them. “They become part of the landscape,” he says, “and if you already love catching them, you want to keep them there.”
Sporting culture, conferences, fly shops, guide economies, and tourism heavily influence which fish get a pass and which become villains.
The Psychology Behind the Double Standard
As the episode progresses, Adam and Justin identify four core forces shaping public attitudes toward invasive species:
1. Cultural Value
A species feels native if it was part of your childhood, your family photos, and your hunting stories. Pheasants, trout, and axis deer fall into this category.
2. Aesthetics
Beautiful animals get sympathy. “Public reaction often follows looks more than science,” Justin notes. Cute cygnets get protection. Ugly or “sneaky” animals get eradication orders.
3. Utility
If the animal provides tourism dollars, meat, or recreation, its negatives get downplayed. If it costs farmers money, it gets targeted as a nuisance.
4. Narrative
Species introduced intentionally gain legitimacy. Species introduced accidentally are perceived as mistakes needing correction.
Ultimately, the episode argues that invasive species management is as much a cultural issue as an ecological one, and that hunters and anglers need to challenge their own assumptions.
As Adam puts it, “Consider where your feelings are coming from. Monitor your emotions and the way you talk about these species. Ask why you think what you do.”
Final Thoughts: Listen to the Full Conversation
This episode wraps up one of the most thought-provoking series the podcast has ever produced. If you’re a hunter, angler, conservationist, or simply someone curious about wildlife, this discussion will push you to rethink the narratives you’ve inherited, and maybe even the species you love or hate.
Hit play on Episode 255: North America’s Invasive Species Double Standard and join the conversation. Your perceptions might change more than you expect.