1. Captive Breeding and Containment of Wild Animals
By Brianna Sutherland

2. Aim of Captive Breeding
To prevent a species from becoming extinct
The following goals are generally followed by programmes (1):
Maintain a range of age groups
Successful reproduction
Protect against disease
Prevent inbreeding and the effects of it
Re-establish wild populations when needed
To eventually see species in the wild

3. Benefits of Captive Breeding
Protection from predators
Higher chance of survival and a future for the species (11)
Our future generations will be able to see our native animals in their natural habitats and enjoy them
Involvement of the public
Education of the public about species
E.g. saving our national icon the Kiwi (12)

4. The issues with captive breeding
Some of the issues with captive breeding can be the welfare of the animal and humans
Breeding programmes are
designed to bolster
populations but this can
involve things such as
inbreeding and unnatural
behaviours developing
Humans can both be a risk to the animal and be at risk
Is there a realistic chance of the species being returned to the wild? (6)
Cross eyed white tiger
Inbreeding can reduce the “level of fitness” of a population if there is only a small founder population, and this reduces the chances of survival as genetic diversity is greatly reduced
Unnatural behaviours can develop because of the exposure to humans and unnatural habitats, for example lions at Kingdom of Zion are fed meat that is already cut and so they do not have to work for their food and so would not have the required instincts if they were to be released into the wild.
As much as we affect their natural behaviours they also endanger humans, in 2009 a white tiger “Abu” mauled a keeper to death as he was cleaning the cage. There were no safety precautions in place and no weapons nearby that could avert the tragedy. Not only did the keeper lose his life but so did the tiger who was shot as a result. (7) There was an elephant who accidentally killed its keeper in April last year while she was in the enclosure with it, it is reported that she did not have much experience with elephants. The elephant fortunately was allowed to live as it was judged an accident. (8) But what about Abu who may have only been acting instinctively.
In the case of the white lions and tigers, they are genetic mutations of their species. the white lion is no longer present in the wild and can not survive without the support of humans due to their colouring which restricts their ability to hunt and also increases the chance of rejection from their pride. But mostly because they are hunted by poachers. (9) The white tiger was more common in the wild but it is thought there are no more outside zoo’s due to excessive shootings in the 1950’s and their hunting issues due to colour as with the white lion. (10) So what are the chances of these animals or their offspring being returned to the wild?

5. Captive Breeding Programmes
Willowbank and NZCT just two examples of Kiwi and Tuatara conservation programmes (2)
Kingdom of Zion (Zion Wildlife Gardens) has white tigers, white lions and other big cats (3)
Department of Conservation runs many different captive breeding programmes including rehabilitation of Kiwi and Tuatara (4,5)

6. Comparison of programmes
Zoo’s – Wider picture with public involvement (13)
Willowbank – Like a Zoo but more focus on breeding to return future offspring to the wild (14)
Kingdom of Zion – Privately run but still has the same aims of the public seeing animals in their natural environments (15)
DOC is very well known and it is run by the government. Their programmes focus on breeding and preparation for release. There is public involvement (16)
All captivity programmes look for the best interests of the animals, but there are different ways in which they are run.
Zoo’s look at education for the public and giving people a chance to see, up close wild animals, although this is not benefiting the animals in the zoo for their natural behaviours it benefits the rest of species in the wild as people become aware of their species and may help out in the future with fundraising and being environmentally friendly.
Willowbank is very similar to a zoo but focuses more on the return of offspring to the wild and ensuring their survival, the public are still involved with funding the programmes.
Kingdom of Zion is different in the way it operates, it is much more expensive at over $80 (17) for simple trips and the facility is not preparing offspring for future release. Kingdom of Zion is mainly for public education.
DOC focuses mostly on the breeding and preparing of animals for release into the wild at a stage where they are able to defend themselves.

7. Public involvement with Kiwi
The Kiwi is New Zealand’s national icon and there are many different projects underway to reinstate them throughout New Zealand.
This requires funding. One way to fund this was to give the public the opportunity to bid on “Trademe” The highest bidder not only helped to pay for the release of a Kiwi but also got to name the Kiwi.(18)

8. Links to videos Kiwi Release
White Kiwi Chick

9. http://www.acs.edu.au/info/21st-century-education/applied-sciences/captive-breeding.aspx (31/7/13)
(20/7/13)
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(30/7/13)
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(29/7/13)
(both 29/7/13)
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(18/7/13)
(31/7/13)
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(Baylee Wellington, 31/7/13)
Resources

10. Questions