Date: November 13, 2018
Source: University of East Anglia
The
survival of the heavily exploited Asian Houbara depends on the regulation of
trapping and hunting, according to research led by the University of East
Anglia (UEA).
New
findings published today reveal that trying to stabilise populations solely
through captive breeding will require the release of such large numbers it will
inevitably compromise wild populations.
The Asian
Houbara, a large, spectacular bird that breeds from the Middle East through
Asia, is of major cultural and political significance because of Arab falconry,
with hunting influencing international diplomacy. The species is threatened by
uncontrolled hunting and poaching, which has caused its decline in the Middle
East and Central Asia since the 1960s.
Attempts
to conserve the species while also supporting the ancient tradition of Arabian
falconry have focused on releasing captive-bred birds in increasing numbers.
But research published today in the journal Biological
Conservation shows that the species in Uzbekistan is declining by more
than 9 per cent each year, and that the number of captive-bred birds needed to
be released annually just to stabilise this population would be 1.5 times
larger than the wild population itself.
Although
captive-breeding can help rescue species from extinction, it bears many risks
[see Notes to editors], and such mass-scale releases may compromise the fitness
of wild populations. Sustainable hunting and conservation instead needs an
integrated approach that also includes controls on hunting, according to Prof
Paul Dolman, professor of conservation ecology in UEA's School of Environmental
Sciences.
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