This article says consevation breeding in zoos is too random..... :
Conservation work in zoos is too random, say scientists | Science Codex
Conservation work in zoos is too random, say scientists | Science Codex
Conservation breeding, does it work ?
- Thread starter vogelcommando
- Start date
There are some sensible points here and I am sure there is room for improvement on many programs; but it would be wrong to deny that there have been quite a few successes with a much wider range of species than those mentioned in the article. There are always going to be some species in need of help that are not amenable to or suitable for breeding in zoos, including some of the insectivores and rodents which the article mentions. This is why in situ breeding programs and field conservation work are also vital.
Alan
Alan
IanRRobinson
Well-Known Member
A pretty intelligent critique, IMHO. An awful lot of zoo space is given over to species for which there is no particular need for captive breeding. And the dispassionate examination of the downside of CITES is especially brave and necessary.
Having said that, it's a great deal easier to criticise current strategies than it is implement alternatives.
Having said that, it's a great deal easier to criticise current strategies than it is implement alternatives.
I think a major point that the article misses is that the educational mission of zoos, and the entertainment/recreation component, are as (or more) important as the captive breeding mission. Most of the megafauna in zoos needs primarily habitat conservation in the wild to survive, not captive breeding, but those are the animals that the public wants to see and pays for the existence of zoos for through patronage and tax dollars.
I'm not sure the authors have a real understanding of what is required of a conservation breeding program.
The "heavy focus" on Tassie devils is not at all random, it is a considered and scientifically based response to an immediate threat.
Zoos have difficult decisions to make. On the one hand there is a demand for a wide variety of animals, both for entertainment and education, on the other conservation breeding programs require large numbers of places for fewer species. And apparently when they do make the decision to make spaces available for a program, it is "random"!