Issue Report on Captive Breeding and Reintroduction

Wildwood Trust is a project situated on the frame in of the Forest of Blean, in Kent. Wildwoods aim is to use the facilities in the woods and sensual collection to support practical conservation projects in the unquiet. There atomic number 18 over three hundred animals, many of which ar endangered, taking bit in conservation projects, and living in semi inhering enclosures. The woodland is managed by coppice rotation, a process that ca-cas place every 20 years where trees such as silver birch and sweet chromatic ar cut to ground level and wherefore shoots allowed to regrow. This is an essential home ground for the hazel dormouse.The wood is a centre for wrapped breeding and reintroduction for homegr give birth endangered species such as hazel dormice and this example ordain be used in this report to explain these issues.The Hazel Dormouse(Muscardinus avellanarius)The Hazel Dormouse is indwelling to the countryside of Britain, predominantly southern England (see figur e 2), living in woodland atomic number 18as and environments fatty in coppice. The mice atomic number 18 an arboreal species spending the majority of their life in trees or bushes and only living on ground level during wintertime hibernation. The mice atomic number 18 considered a flagship species chosen to represent an environmental parkway and face lifting support subsequently benefitting other species contained in the ecosystem.The commonwealths of dormice were shown to feature disappe ard from seven counties in England by The UK Mammal Society Dormouse Survey in 1984. The dusk has been caused by human destruction of their woodland habitat through development, climate tilt and pressure from other species. Grey squirrels were introduced into England and ate the nuts that the dormice fed on whilst they hibernated. Climatic change caused warmer winters turn uping in the early awakening of the dormice from hibernation, onwards the ripening of their intellectual nouris hment, and wetter summers stopped the dormice from foraging.Dormice are listed on The World saving Union (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and are protected by law, on a lower floor Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. This act vetos the killing, injuring, knock overing or caparison of the dormouse. It also makes it illegal to possess or control the animal, damage its nurse and sell or buy the dormice without a licence. captive breeding draped breeding is the reproduction of animals in confinement under controlled fits to be spared into the wild. This is definitive for conservation of threatened species and is an example of ex situ (out of the natural habitat) conservation, but it raises implications. jailed breeding has taken place at Wildwood for dormice as part of the internal dormouse captive breeding and reintroduction programme.The dormice are housed in an enclosure do of a wooden frame and mesh covering. Unlike other rodents theirs is a short -change breeding season having 1-2 olive-sized litters of 4-7 offspring. The materialization stay with the mother for 6-8 calendar weeks, fashioning it unlikely for to a greater extent than one litter a year. In severally enclosure the snuggle boxes are kept 1.5m off the ground with resistance from water and predators, water and nutrition are hung on the side of the hencoop and the floor is covered with leaves and soil. After hibernation the enclosure is filled with branches of vegetation to redact up 3D space for the animals to use. This provides the ideal conditions for breeding with no stressful food finding. One enclosure depose hold up to three individuals every two fe manlys and one male or one breeding couplet and their offspring, under one year of age, and will be kept in the aforementioned(prenominal) throngings over winter. Adult males must be placed apiece as they are territorial and will fight.Where do the breeding mice get along with from?In November po pulate boxes are pocked and, if permission is granted from natural England, wild dormice weighing less than 15g can be taken. As these mice are underweight they have less misfortune of surviving winter hibernation and can be kept indoors during this period in heated nest boxes. Other dormice are orphaned or given into rescue centres and vets. The common land Dormouse Captive Breeders Group (CDCBG) chooses which individuals breed and how many are bred annually, which also helps to prevent inbreeding.The Paignton zoo sprinklebook keeper gives each captive born dormouse a stud book number, and their breeder will allocate each mouse a local ID number.GeneticsWhen animals reproduce genes are geted from parents to offspring. Genetic variety is the natural differences of individuals, across a population. A characteristic that will give dormice a disadvantage, for example short teeth, could prevent them from opening nuts, so if food was in short supply these mice would die and lasti ng teethed mice would thrive. This would cause the gene for longer teeth to become more than common, which is the basis of natural selection. Natural selection, was a theory of Charles Darwin, in which better adapted animals would have more chance of survival, so becoming more predominant.Wildwood would like to preserve biodiversity which is the huge variation found indoors and between species and ecosystems on Earth.Offspring that are created from the same sets of genes will have similar genes to each other. Inbreeding is the breeding of animals that share more genes than the average population, they are related in some way. If inbreeding takes place the genes of their young will come from a very selective gene kitty, qualification particular genes more predominant within a species. Inbreeding can have to deformities and mutations as well as problems with immune systems and an increase in inherited diseases. Inbreeding tends to reduce the number of alleles in a population, fro m source 1.A studbook for dormice was created in 2006 to keep track of mice kept by members of the CDCBG. The studbook limits inbreeding and keeps breeding to first extension or wild caught animals. Breeders can use the studbook to selectively breed, mixing mice from varied collections and different families. This will stop related mice from dominating the gene pool creating healthier mice and preserving communicable diversity.Future developments could include implantation of embryos and in vitro fertilization (IVF) of the dormice. discriminating breeding could be improved and gradually undesirable characteristics or weaknesses bred out. Cloning could be developed.Captive breeding raises many honourable, environmental, social and economic issues.Ethical issues.* There are various ethical issues that need thoughtfulness with regard to captive breeding. Animals have to be removed from their natural environment and put into captivity virtually locking them up and many throng f eel that there should non be any interference with reputation in this way even to avoid extinction. It could be the slipperiness that genetic diversity has already autumnd to the point where it is irreversible.* There could be a case for protection to encourage breeding in the wild, by in situ methods of conservation, within the environment. However, captive breeding is used to retain species and improve numbers and is easier to manage.* Selective breeding increases genetic variation and produces healthier populations also preventing inbreeding. This reduces deformities and mutations but should macrocosm interfere with natural reproduction? Inbreeding would sometimes naturally occur and if the population was kept large enough this would not often happen.EconomicalVisitors give birth an entrance fee at Wildwood and this money goes towards the captive breeding scheme. However, they do not see the programme taking place as they would disturb the dormice and interfere with hiberna tion and reproduction.It could be that unless the programme continues indefinitely a lot of investiture may be lost if the numbers continue to decline.Environment development dormice from different collections to breed may spread diseases to other populations of dormice.ReintroductionReintroduction is releasing captive born animals into a particular environment to which they were once native and where they will be free from human supervision. Normally these populations experienced decline collectable to human intervention and will only succeed if the cause of the decline has been overcome. The reintroduction is considered successful if the animal has fully integrated into the local population and inhabitd with no further aid or interaction from humans. Reintroduction projects must follow guidelines set out by the IUCN and Wildwood has released dormice back into their natural habitats. They use a blue release program, gradually using less human intervention.Seven weeks before rel ease the litters are health screened at the Zoological Society and released if they pass the tests. Reintroduction is limited to once a year as criteria for suitable sites are extensive and complicated. The population densities are less than 10 adults per hectare in their trump out environments.What does the health screening test for?The health screening takes place to check the animals do not have any disease that could be passed onto wild populations.Scientists test for* pathogenic bacteria* Tapeworms (cestodes)* Roundworms (strongyles)* Tubercolosis* ParasitesThe condition of the dormices coat, skin, face, genitals, feet and incisor teeth are go over and their weight should be between 18-24g for summer re-introduction. 8mm Pet-ID microchips are fitted in the dormice under anaesthetic for identification in the future.Where is a dormouse released?An ideal site for the dormicewouldwould notbe an old wood with different layers of vegetation,already have a dormouse community (males may kill new dormice)have lots of undergrowth,have less than 100 nest boxes in the woodland.have deciduous trees, define males less than 100m apart, as they are territorial.have coppicing taking place regularly, live related dormice close by to stop inbreedinghave fruiting hazel,Be at least 20 hectares,have a site circumspection plan.Figure 4 Table showing an ideal site for dormouse reintroduction.How Wildwood release their dormice1. Natural England is informed.2. Pre-release cages made of wire are attached to a group of hazel trees.3. 2-3 nest boxes placed in each cage, with a male and two females so there is more of a chance of the animals staying together.4.Dormice then live in these whilst they acclimatise to the surroundings.5. For 2-3 weeks humans supply fresh food everyday, during the day so the dormice are not disturbed. Also leafy branches are placed above pens to provide shade and protection from predators.6. One week to 10 days into the three week period, a hole, less th an 3cm2 is made in the top corner of the cage. The mice can then explore the scope and there cage can not be invaded by birds or squirrels.7. The frequency of feeding is reduced gradually until mid-September, when the animals should have found their own food supplies.8. The nest boxes are checked until October, where weights and number of offspring are recorded.9. Dormice are left to hibernate.10. monitor begins in May.Figure 5 Stages of reintroductionWhat is monitored and when does it take place?A long term monitoring plan should be made before any reintroduction, so that the species will successfully survive in a wild environment. After release nest boxes are checked by trained and licensed volunteers, who record numbers, sex, weight, breeding condition and offspring.The volunteers monitor the nest once a month from April to October, between the fifteenth and 25th of each month. Data should be collected before midday so torpid dormice can be seen, and a National Dormouse Monitor ing Programme Record From must be completed.Conditions of release* Winter change of empty boxes.* Dormice are released in June to prepare for hibernation.EthicalThere is an ethical duty for reintroduction because humans destroyed the dormices natural habitat and caused the population decline so they should restore the population. However, should animals be returned to the wild when there are serene outstanding issues that led to the original decline?Microchips are put into the necks of the released dormice which are approximately a tenth of their body length. Anaesthetic is risky for small animals and interferes with their natural state. The chips are considered important for monitoring the dormice to help with the programme. They could be eaten by a predator in the food chain and the microchip would be affecting natural processes.If the reintroduction is not successful and the mice die this could be repayable to human error and animals may have suffered as a result of this.Econo micalThe scheme is expensive as the release is labour intensive, with staff needed to survey the area before and after release. This diverts resources from much more cost-effective ecosystem and habitat conservation measures.The health screening is expensive and microchips cost 8 per mouse on top of anaesthetic and vetinary bills.EnvironmentalThe nest boxes and cages used can intrude on the natural woodland, with the possibility of dormice causing a shortage of food for the other animals in the ecosystem.Social whatsoever behaviour in genetically inherited but some is learnt from adults and experience. Captive bred animals do not gain this knowledge and are at a disadvantage when reintroduced. The mice might lose their ability to create their own nests.The reintroduced dormice could cause a problem to the local residents.