Discussion of the threats posed by invasive non-native species such as the grey squirrel is “terrifyingly similar” to concerns over mass migration, according to an environmentalist.

A consultant for New Scientist magazine, Fred Pearce argues that foreign flora and fauna are being “demonised” unfairly while the problematic species which are native to Britain are given a free pass.

Speaking to the Daily Mail ahead of a planned talk at Edinburgh Science Festival on the topic, Pearce decried the language used to describe “invasive species” as “very xenophobic”, stating it “suggests that anything foreign is bad”.

“It is terrifyingly similar to the language which can be used about immigrants invading the country,” added the environmentalist, who claims scientists are more likely to present species as dangerous if they are foreign in his book The New Wild: Why Invasive Species Will Be Nature’s Salvation.

Read more at Breitbart.