European Breeding Programs (eep)
Conservation ex situ
As part of the DESMAN (Endangered Species Management) training at the Durrell Academy (Jersey Zoo) in 2003, Emmanuel Mouton conducted a study aimed at prioritising the species to be housed at the Reserve:
- The species threatened with extinction (IUCN Red List)
- The species in breeding programs (EEP) in demand for reception capacity,
- The small and medium sized species,
- The forestry species(the Calviac site is entirely wooded),
- and the species meeting the above criteria
originating from biodiversity hotspots
previously defined.
Collaboration for the survival of populations
The Reserve is part of a interzoos collaboration within EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquariums) by being involved in the European breeding programs (EEP).
Indeed, no single institution can contribute significantly to any long-term conservation. This collaboration is therefore essential and serves several purposes:
- education towards the public
- basis for fundraising,
- material for research (biology, breeding),
- and, on a larger scale, it is about providing a genetic and demographic bank for wild populations.
In order to meet these goals, populations must be viable in the long term. It is therefore necessary for them to be:
- demographically stable,
- healthy and capable of sustainable natural increase,
- divided into several institutions in order to reduce the risks of catastrophic losses (epidemics, etc.),
- of sufficient size to maintain a high level of genetic diversity.
"Until we regard animal life with the same respect that we accord to old books, paintings and historical monuments, the animal refugee will always live a precarious life on the verge of extermination, dependent for his existence on the charity of a few human beings."
Gerald Durrell (Encounters with animals - 1958)
European Breeding Programmes (EEP)
To achieve these goals, European breeding programmes (EEP) for endangered species have been established.
There are about 400 of them. So, each threatened species benefits from an EEP for which a coordinator is appointed and given responsibility for all individuals of the species concerned present in European animal parks. This person is responsible for keeping a studbook, a true genealogical register of the species providing the information necessary to give directives on population management: reproduction, sterilization, birth, transfer, etc.
All EEP individuals are from the captive environment, they are therefore not taken from the natural environment.
Mylène Sannier was coordinator of the EEP of the Goura de Victoria hope from 2012 to 2018.
Élea Le Rider is a member of the crowned lemur species committee.
Emmanuel Mouton is a member of several species committees: fossa, European mink and white-faced saki.
The Réserve Zoologique de Calviac presents 30 species which are part of an EEP.
Taxon Advisory Groups (TAG)
The coordinators of species belonging to the same taxon (examples: lemurs, reptiles, etc.) are supported by external advisors (veterinarians, biologists, members of zoological parks, etc.). These are the TAGs (Taxon Advisory Groups).
Their goals are to organize the management of captive populations, define and prioritize breeding programs and re-evaluate them regularly.
TAG members will edit documents called
Best Practice Guidelines
(breeding guidelines) for each species, compiling all the best practices regarding feeding, management, care of each species.
Emmanuel Mouton is an advisor to the TAG of small carnivores.
200
animals
50%
of endangered species
30
European ex situ breeding programs (EEP)
7
conservation projects
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