Use the paragraph to answer the question
Releasing non-native animals into the wild upsets the food chains of native species. The tegu lizard has been introduced into the Florida Everglades and is destroying the environment. The lizard will eat anything that crosses its path, including small mammals, birds, insects, plants, and eggs, leaving animals of this ecosystem in danger. If all parts of the environment are on the tegu’s menu, then all animals in the habitat are at risk of extinction. For this reason, anyone caught releasing non-native animals into the wild should be penalized with a significant fine.
How does the author support the claim that people who release non-native animals into the wild should be punished?
A. By including reasons that people might be tempted to take an animal out of its native environment.
B. By including data that shows that the threat of punishment stops people from releasing non-native animals into the wild.
C. By including evidence that shows that animals are more likely to thrive in their native environment.
D. By including an example of a non-native animal that has caused problems in a new environment.
D. By including an example of a non-native animal that has caused problems in a new environment.
The author uses the example of the tegu lizard, which has been introduced to the Florida Everglades and is causing environmental harm by consuming a wide variety of native species, to support the claim that releasing non-native animals can be highly destructive to local ecosystems and therefore should be punishable by fines.