Puppies with a purpose

The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), with more than 400 zoo and aquarium members, has announced nine new plans (EAZA Ex Situ Programmes (EEPs)) for managing the captive population of dog & hyena species.

The EEPs recommend strategies for the protection of zoo populations based on the wide variety of roles animals can play in conservation, research and education. While some animals are Critically Endangered (with a genetically-diverse captive population providing a safety net) others are important for raising awareness of conservation issues or countering preconceptions that hamper conservation and fundraising efforts.

It is because of this wide variety of issues that EAZA, more than thirty years after the establishment of the first EEPs (then ‘European Endangered species Programmes’) has conducted a full evaluation of the methods and reasons for managing zoo populations of different species. The new style EEPs will increase the focus on the contribution that zoo animals can make to overcoming obstacles and supporting better public education, better field conservation, better insurance populations, and better research in European zoos and beyond.

Dr Bengt Holst, Chair of the EAZA EEP Committee explained: “If we look at the Hyena species, which will have their own EEPs from now on, we can see that they have a bad name with the public. The role of the new EEPs will be to show that these fascinating creatures have a fascinating social life, and a role to play in removing disease carrying carcasses from the savannah.

“We hope that in the future, the word hyena will not be used as an insult, but will instead be emblematic of the incredible variety of life, and how each species contributes to the health of the world’s ecosystems. The EEP will be instrumental in this process in Europe.”

So far new EEPs have been written for: Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus), Maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), Dhole (Cuon alpinus), Painted dog (Lycaon pictus), Bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis), Bush dog (Speothos venaticus), Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda), Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), and Striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena).

These EEPs are the first of up to four hundred such programmes which will be established or converted from the old system over the next five years. This is a bold step for zoos and aquariums, and one which illustrates the ongoing commitment of EAZA and its members to make the strongest possible collective contribution to conservation, education and research.