Obstacles to Global Population Management

At the 2011 WAZA Annual Conference in Prague, participants at a workshop on securing sustainable animal collections were asked the following question: What do you see as being the most important obstacle to global population management? A total of 44 responses were received, which could be grouped into the following categories:

1. There is a lack of commitment, cooperation, communication, directions and global involvement (20 respondents).
2. There are issues with transporting animals in terms of restrictive (veterinary) regulations, CITES permits, practical constraints and costs involved (15 respondents).
3. There is a lack of resources with regard to staff numbers, capacity and skills as well as facilities and money (7 respondents).
4. Other obstacles (2 respondents).

Or as one respondent put it so aptly: "There is no real obstacle. If we all want this, it can be done. So if there is an obstacle, it would be that we do not really all want this."

Suggested solutions included making participation in global population management mandatory for WAZA membership, lobbying the respective authorities and providing more resources for global population management. The emerging view among workshop participants was that for global population management to be successfully implemented there needs to be more commitment, cooperation and communication.