This winter the Europe office focused on the upcoming conferences in San Diego and Barcelona. We are also finalizing the program of the Summer School, in collaboration with the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Registration is open, and we hope to welcome students from around the world.
Other news from…Europe
Populations of wolves, bears and lynx are recovering in Europe, after centuries of persecution. A recent paper found that the 10,000 respondents surveyed across European Union Member States generally, support the recovery of large carnivores but oppose both further population growth and hunting. Attitudes were remarkably consistent across rural and urban areas, but these views may pose challenges for designing policies that are both science-based and supported by the public. No mention of fertility control: perhaps a good opportunity for welcoming discussions about the potential for this method throughout Europe.
UK: Badgers and bovine tuberculosis
The European badger is involved in transmission of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) to cattle and ongoing bTB eradication programmes cost over £100 million per year in Great Britain alone. Badger culls, carried out in the UK since the 1970s, have had mixed results on bTB control and are opposed by many stakeholders. An injectable vaccine against bTB is used in badgers to mitigate the severity of the infection and its potential transmission to cattle, badgers and other species. A recent study conducted in captivity suggested that a double vaccination, combining the bTB and the contraceptive GonaCon, might reduce both disease burden and fecundity. A good example of two approaches, population management and disease control, likely to be more effective if applied together than on their own.
News from the world
Thailand: a One-Health approach to human-macaque coexistence
I spent one week in Thailand working on a collaborative project on human-wildlife conflicts and coexistence, which brings together York and Mahidol universities. The visit was supported by the University of York. The workshop was attended by 25 participants, including academics, representatives of the Departments of National Parks and Livestock Development, local authorities, village health volunteers, practitioners and teachers. We discussed the findings of a survey, conducted by Mahidol University staff, about human-macaque conflicts and the solutions suggested by participants. Fertility control was seen favorably by many of the 117 respondents, followed by translocation. However, the reality seems much more complicated. It takes time to reduce the population of animals that may live for 20 years. Sterilized macaques remain in the area for a long time and their behavior, such as damage to properties, stealing food, etc., will not change. This is why methods that complement fertility control are also needed to mitigate these conflicts. Once again, an excellent reminder of the many facets of macaque-people coexistence.
Giovanna Massei
