Pick up a penguin plan criticised
Plans to capture 120 pairs of wild Rockhopper Penguins from some of the most remote islands in the world are being attacked by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
A South African aquarium owner is planning to take the penguins from a key breeding site at Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic – a UK overseas territory. It is thought the birds will end up in zoos and bird collections around the world, with what the RSPB terms an ‘unproven premise’ the birds will be used in captive-breeding programmes.
The Rockhopper is listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the international list of endangered species, and the small, distinguished looking bird has suffered a decline of at least 24% over the last 30 years. Captive breeding programmes have proven highly successful for some species, but for Rockhoppers the track record is not promising.
A ship set sail for the territory on 11 October, and the RSPB is calling on Bill Rammell, the Minister for Overseas Territories at the Foreign Office, to overrule the decision by the islands’ administrator Bill Dickson to sanction the capture.
Alistair Gammell, the RSPB’s international director, says: ‘It appears to us that this expedition is little more than a commercial collecting expedition with no benefits to conservation. Considering the lack of information on penguin numbers on Tristan da Cunha, we are surprised the UK government has apparently sanctioned this so easily.
‘If captive breeding is failing, is it advisable to take more birds? Alternatively, if it is succeeding, why are more birds needed?’
The scheme has not won the support of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria and there has been no assessment of the damage the removal of the birds will do to the viability of the population.
There are also concerns about the welfare of the penguins during their capture and transportation.
