Mutant Mosquitoes Soon To Invade Florida Keys

You heard it right. There will soon be mutant mosquitoes flying in the Florida Keys as British Company, Oxitec, will release them to help combat the spread of Dengue Fever in the area. However, residents in the area are not happy about it and thought they have been used as a testing ground for these mutant bugs. A petition posted on Change.org has already reached over 100,000 signatures!

Here is the petition letter:

Stop the experimental release of (GM) mosquitoes in the Florida Keys

Greetings,

I just signed the following petition addressed to: Florida Keys Mosquito Control District & Management and the FDA

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Stop the experimental release of (GM) mosquitoes in the Florida Keys

Right now, a British company named Oxitec is planning to release genetically modified mosquitoes into the fragile enviroment of the Florida Keys.

Even though the local community in the Florida Keys has spoken — we even passed an ordinance demanding more testing — Oxitec is trying to use a loop hole by applying to the FDA for an “animal bug” patent. This could mean these mutant mosquitoes could be released at any point against the wishes of locals and the scientific community. We need to make sure the FDA does not approve Oxitec’s patent.

Nearly all experiments with genetically-modified crops have eventually resulted in unintended consequences: super weeds more resistant to herbicides, mutated and resistant insects and collateral damage to ecosystems. A recent news story reported that the monarch butterfly population is down by half in areas where Roundup Ready GM crops are doused with ultra-high levels of herbicides that wipe out the monarch’s favorite milkweed plant.

Why would we not expect GM insects, especially those that bite humans, to have similar unintended negative consequences? Will the more virulent Asian tiger mosquito that also carries dengue fill the void left by reductions in A. aegypti? Will the dengue virus mutate (think antibiotic resistant MRSA) and become even more dangerous?

At a recent Town Hall meeting residents discussed an experimental release of genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes in Key West that was largely a sales pitch by Oxitec, a company with everything to gain by breaking into the U.S. market for GM mosquitoes and using our Key West backyards as a test site. It’s the lack of any alternate expert scientific opinion that is troubling to me and many others. This is our home and our lives this company is using us as their own lab rats.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

If you want to join the petition, visit this link.

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