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The Animal Welfare Implications of Conservation Research

 


Scientists working in the fields of Animal Welfare and Wildlife Conservation share many of the same motivations, each drawing their inspiration from a deep concern for animals. It is surprising, therefore, how little positive interaction has taken place between the sciences of conservation and animal welfare. WildCRU's new initiative in animal welfare science grows from the conviction that research in this area will become increasingly relevant to achieving appropriate and effective conservation.

Why is this project important?

As the human population expands, we are putting more and more pressure on our natural environment. Competition for space between people and wildlife often results in the reduction and fragmentation of the suitable habitat available for wild species. As a result, there is a growing need for active conservation intervention. However, as our interventions to save species become ever more sophisticated, the need to measure the welfare impacts of these interventions is heightened. Without such measures, the success of conservation projects is threatened. For example, trapping, translocation and captive breeding could all impact negatively upon their subjects, and there is an urgent need to develop welfare measures that can be employed to measure stress in such situations.

 

What are we doing?

WildCRU is at the forefront of the new combined science of welfare and conservation. We have developed new techniques that can be used for measuring an animal's welfare in a variety of real-life conservation situations. One of our new methods assesses the ability of an animal's immune system to respond to the kind of challenge it experiences when the animal is under stress. This technique can be carried out on a single drop of blood and uses simple equipment that can be taken almost anywhere. This method can be used to test whether a particular conservation intervention, e.g. catching and relocating an animal, has an adverse effect on it's immune system and is therefore likely to render it more vulnerable to disease. We are striving to develop other such measures, all of which will be tailored to the needs of modern conservation.

How is this project making a difference?

 

Deliverables

We have provided conservation biologists with new methods to help them determine the animal welfare implications of their work. Such methods range from the very simple (measuring body weight), right to the forefront of stress biology (immune activation). These methods will improve the success of conservation projects across the globe.

 

Cascade effects

We have used these techniques in a range of conservation projects, including: measuring the welfare implications of handling and radio-collaring water voles bred in captivity for release in England; shearing wild Vicuna in Chile; and handling endangered swift foxes in Canada. The Vicuna situation provides an example of direct interaction between conservation and welfare; previously Vicuna were extremely rare, and the local population was encouraged to preserve them and in return harvest their fine wool. We used our stress measuring techniques to compare different handling strategies so that the wild Vicuna could be sheared with minimal welfare impact - thus better ensuring the survival of the species.

 

How can you help?

This work is funded by the Humane Society of the United States, and we acknowledge their considerable help and support in all areas of this work, both in financial and academic terms. Additional funding would be very welcome; first, to allow the purchase of equipment and consumables required as this project continues to progress; and second, to pay for a new Post-doctoral researcher as we develop and expand the scale of this work.


YOU CAN HELP THIS PROJECT
Target to be raised
£35,625 p.a.

You can find out about the budget for this project by contacting us. See our contact details.

If you are interested in finding out more about the science involved in this project, we would be happy to send you further information.

WildCRU is part of the University of Oxford, a tax- exempt charity. To maximise tax benefits to both donors and WildCRU, please see Donations.

Principal funders
The Humane Society of the United States

Partners
Dr Rubina Mian, University of Coventry

Text by Graeme McLaren and Sandra Baker