animal welfare

A renewed call for conservation leadership 10 years further in the feral cat Trap-Neuter-Return debate and new opportunities for constructive dialogue

Abstract

It has been 10 years since a seminal paper in the journalConservation Biologycalled for stronger leadership from the conservation community in counteringthe growing inappropriate use of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) as a method tocontrol feral cat,Felis catus, populations. The practice is rapidly spreading toareas of wildlife and conservation significance, and the need to counter thisdevelopment is extremely urgent. So far, the promulgation of TNR has beenbased on a narrow, single-species approach to animal welfare. However, anew, yet little-noticed, species-inclusive perspective on animal welfare includesthe consideration of collateral animal suffering for a more equitable assess-ment of TNR. Each setting, depending on the level of conservation required,may call for different methods for the management of free-roaming cats. TNRis just one such method and its appropriateness depends on the specific wild-life conservation needs for each area specified.

Date
2022
Data type
Scientific article
Theme
Research and monitoring
Geographic location
Aruba
Bonaire
Curacao
Saba
St. Eustatius
St. Maarten

Animal-borne video reveals atypical behaviour in provisioned green turtles: A global perspective of a widespread tourist activity

Abstract

Feeding wildlife as a tourist activity is a growing industry around the world. However,providing alternative food sources can affect wildlife ecology and behaviour. In this study,we combined animal-borne cameras onfive sub-adult green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from the Bahamas with a global review to directly assess impacts of provisioning on thebehaviour of an endangered marine species for the first time. Descriptive evidence from video footage, with videos included in the manuscript, showed that the tagged turtles spent 86% of their time in shallow water (<1.5 m) at a provisioning site. All individuals observed, both tagged and untagged, actively approached people and boats, with up to 10 turtles recorded feeding on squid offered by tourists at one time. During these feeding events, multiple accounts of atypical aggressive behaviour such as biting and ramming conspecifics were recorded. Furthermore, a review of online sources revealed the wide-spread significance of turtle feeding as a tourist activity in at least 20 locations within the global range of green sea turtles, as well as five locations with regular provisioning ofeither loggerhead (Caretta Caretta) or hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbracata) turtles. At the majority of the locations, turtles were fed animal matter such as fish scraps and squid. Although sample size limited quantitative analyses, we found indications of relatively high growth rates of two tagged turtles and low seagrass intake rates of all five tagged turtles.Therefore, our results emphasize the need to further investigate the impacts of turtle provisioning on natural foraging behaviour, ecosystem functioning as well as turtle growth rates and health implications. Supplemental feeding may increase habituation and dependency of turtles on humans with risks for turtle conservation. The innovative use of animal-borne camera technology may provide novel insights to behavioural consequences of human-wildlife interactions that can aid in the management and conservation of rare or endangered species

Date
2020
Data type
Scientific article
Theme
Education and outreach
Research and monitoring