Trends in the captive breeding of threatened and endangered birds in British zoos, 1988--1997

Whitfort, H; Young, R

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess trends in captive breeding of threatened and endangered bird species in British zoos. The measures we recorded were: 1) the total number of species held, 2) the percentage of species held that are listed in the IUCN Red List, 3) the percentage of endangered species breeding, and 4) the number of species in managed breeding programs. These data were gathered from the bird inventories of 10 representative British zoos for the years 1988 and 1997. The data for measures 1–3 were compared between the 2 years using a Wilcoxon matched-pairs test. We found that the zoos maintained the same number of species (W=10.5; n=10; P=0.093; median=87.5 and 78 for 1988 and 1997, respectively). However, there was a significant increase in the number of birds held that fit each of the IUCN's conservation categories (Endangered: W=43.0; n=10; P<0.05, median=1.48 and 6.64 for 1988 and 1997, respectively; Vulnerable: W=53.0; n=10; P<0.05, median=3.33 and 10.05 for 1988 and 1997, respectively; and Rare: W=55.0; n=10; P<0.01, median=0.00 and 8.33 for 1988 and 1997, respectively). Overall, the percentage of threatened species kept in zoos increased from a median of 4.81 in 1988 to 25.02 in 1997. During this period there was an increase in the number of species in each category of the IUCN Red List. No difference was found in the number of threatened species breeding between 1988 and 1997.

Citation

Whitfort, H., & Young, R. (2004). Trends in the captive breeding of threatened and endangered birds in British zoos, 1988--1997. Zoo Biology, 23(1), 85-89. https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.10122

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Feb 13, 2004
• Deposit Date: Jul 13, 2023
• Journal: Zoo Biology
• Print ISSN: 0733-3188
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 23
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 85-89
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.10122