International wild animal welfare and future directions

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1 International wild animal welfare and future directions Stuart R. Harrop Chair of Wildlife Management Law Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology School of Anthropology and Conservation University of Kent All Photos: Stuart Harrop 2010 except Mauritius Parakeet 2010 Jim Groombridge

2 A preliminary note of humility -the UK has been slow to legally protect the welfare of wild animals Cetaceans- UK in the vanguard of whale killing in the last century. Steele v Rogers (1912) 106 LT 79 Rowley and Murphy [1964] 1 All ER 50 The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996

3 Can conservationists find room for compassion? Conservation- scientific pragmatism The conservationist aims to preserve diversity in species and seldom deals at the individual level Welfare- ethics with science base Welfare seeks to avoid unnecessary suffering in the individual animal irrespective of its conservation status. Science informs suffering. Ethics and science inform unnecessary. Common Ground-from separate epistemological perspectives Both approaches aim to secure that species live freely and naturally in the wild state

4 Can conservationists and welfarists work together? Confluences include: Welfare case for inhumanity of whaling and conservation case for moratorium Eradicating illegal bush-meat killing Potential Conflicts include: Culling of protected or other species to maintain populations Culling required to resolve human-animal conflicts Culling required to maintain genetic integrity (hybridization) Recreational hunting to support conservation strategies through incentives Other invasive conservation techniques

5 The case for compassion in conservation -1 The distinction d between domestic/farmed animals and wild animals No comprehensive international law yet for domestic/farmed animals but regional advances in e.g. the European Union CITES effectively protects captive animals in the custody of humans and also when in a farmed or ranched situation- mirrors the trend to protect domestic/farmed animals under human control Case for wild animal welfare in conservation activities may be strengthened by emphasizing increased captivity of or control over wild animals

6 The increasing case for compassion in conservation-2 Environmental change Climate change coupled with habitat fragmentation may force range changes and reduce space for wild animals to live freely Some ranges may be lost requiring zoo" conditions or extinction Protected areas for particularly large mammals already mirror to an extent farmed conditions More species potentially in ex-situ ranched conditions?

7 The case for compassion in conservation-3 Conservation Practices Conservation techniques for critically endangered species often mirror captive management operations for domestics in agriculture More human impacts on wild animals generating conservation v compassion dilemmas: Hybridization of wild with domestics Alien Species The need/obsession for more conservation data

8 Hard What is already in place? -Hard and soft international conservation instruments that deal with wild animal welfare- CITES- welfare extended to captive animals in trade, in transport and reception. Also some aspects of welfare for ranched animals. International Whaling Commission- provisions relating to killing and secondary killing methods for commercial whaling Incidental provisions- such as Article 8 Berne Convention- ban of indiscriminate means of capture and killing Soft International Agreements(s) on Humane Trapping- merely advance the status quo for inhumane traps UN General Assembly World Charter for Nature Every form of life is unique, warranting respect regardless of its worth to man [we should] accord other organisms such recognition [and] be guided by a moral code of action

9 Regulatory development where to from here?- 1 No international regulation directly tackles the relationship between welfare and conservation. Ideal might be a protocol to CBD setting out minimum wild animal welfare standards for conservation activities BUT: The CBD, although hard law, has a poor normative record It takes time to establish international law - 15 years from start to implementation The international arena is preoccupied with the economy and the abstract concept of carbon despite the foundational position of species and ecosystems for all civilization and the advice of John Lennon

10 Regulatory development: where to from here?- 2 Options include: 1. Compassion-in-conservation protocol initiative through CBD 2. As secondary approach incorporate welfare requirements into CBD s current target exercise 3. Use inter-convention / institutional networks such as GRASP 4. Expand/develop Compassion-in-conservation guidelines within major international, conservation NGO s, the private sector and conservation funding agencies 5. Develop Guidelines for application within the conservation industry 6. Expand existing conventions such as CITES by the back door

11 Some principles in regulatory/guideline development Welfare eradicates unnecessary suffering and alleviates necessary suffering: thus it is designed to compliment necessary agendas- (ranched species in CITES) Welfare is also the leader in some agendas (But did hunting ban in UK fully analyse role of culture, community and conservation incidents?) Must establish priorities- which ethic leads? Must facilitate right of challenge e.g. : welfare to challenge culling on basis of necessity, conservation to challenge hunting bans,

12 Some potential components of regulatory/guideline development The CIA - Compassion Impact Assessment of conservation (with quid-pro-quo: Conservation Impact Assessment of welfare oriented activities- e.g. hunting bans) Establish standards for capture methods, tracking, monitoring methods and other invasive techniques Minimum training requirements re: the above Apply ordinary standards of farm animal welfare to conservation operations that involve ranching and to intensive activities for extreme species recovery operations (e.g. Mauritius Parakeet) Establish test of necessity for projects/project methodologies (along lines of UK s scientific procedures regulation)- does the project s value merit the suffering? Open projects to pre-scrutiny by welfare experts