Download Capybara: an example of an issue report

Problem - Maintaining the habitat of the capybara and
breeding them for meat.
The capybara (shown left 10) is currently classified as
a common species in the 2000 IUCN Red List of
threatened species. However, I have found through
research that the number of capybara in the wild is
declining, "Mortality from hunting is responsible for
local extinctions or scarcity in many localities”.1 Also
this is confirmed by the statistic, "Today barely
100,000 capybaras are left in Venezuela”. 2
The classification of the capybara as 'common' also
means that people are unaware of the affect hunting
will, and is having on the population of capybara
living in the wild. The conservation of the capybara is overlooked by most people as it is
considered a pest, due to its tendency to raid crops when fresh grazing is not available.
But this unavailability of fresh grazing is caused by humans!
The capybara has a great variety of habitats from forest and brush land to swamps, brackish
mangrove areas and open savannah. The habitat needs to have all the components of water, dry
ground on which to rest, grass and natural shelter1.
These habitats are being destroyed by human activities, such as pollution of freshwater and the
drainage of wetlands for agricultural use of the fertile soil, causing damage to the environment
where the capybara seeks refuge from predators. Water is being abstracted for human usage
increasing the threat to freshwater habitats. Efforts to protect wetlands have now produced
several international agreements. Another habitat being destroyed is the grasslands, in the past
grassland covered about two fifths of the earth's land surface 3.This grassland is being destroyed
for agricultural use for growing crops or raising livestock. However, farming has created
grassland; the hill pastures of Europe and New Zealand, for example, are a result of deforestation
several centuries ago 3.This old pasture has a larger range of plants and vegetation, which
nutritionally benefits the capybara and several other animals. But there is more destruction of
habitat occurring than being created. Farmers benefit from destroying the habitats of these
animals economically, through the gain of more land and the reduction in the number of
capybara. This is because the capybara can destroy crops, but if there are less capybara the
damage will be smaller and less frequent. With more land the farmer can grow a larger amount of
crops or raise a larger livestock to gain more money. This in my opinion is a simplistic view; the
capybara may be a less appealing animal to many people. But it is important to take into account
that the depletion and extinction of species is reducing the earth's biodiversity. This change
disrupts ecological links, resulting in ecological instability which will in turn come to affect the
human.
Conservation of the capybara.
Another major threat to the capybara is hunting by humans for
meat and oil from the subcutaneous fat, which is a popular
medicine in southern South America (distribution of capybara
shown left http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Capybararange.png ). The hides are used to make gloves, belts,
leatherjackets, handbags, harnesses and saddles. These products
are sold on by the hunters who only receive a bare subsistence
wage. So economically there is the problem that if the hunting
was stopped the hunters would lose their already very small
wage. Also the small wage means the hunter has to kill a larger
number of the capybara to gain money to feed his family, if the
wage was increased there would be less carnage. Socially many
people have different views on the hunting of capybara; in countries where capybara meat is
popular such as Venezuela, the general view point is that the meat is a delicacy and "they contend
that eating capybara, which is a cousin of the guinea pig, shouldn't make people squeamish." 2
Where as other people would be completely against the idea morally as killing a wild animal is
wrong when we already have food resources from cattle. I believe that the hunting and killing of
capybara is highly unethical due to the way in which the hunting and killing is carried out. The
hunting takes place along Forest Rivers where the capybara take refuge and dogs are used to
drive the capybara to shore or into water where they are shot or harpooned. They are hunted at
night using canoes and caught in pitfalls dug. This means a very large number die due to hunting
as there is little chance of escape for such a large and vulnerable animal. In Llanos of Columbia
and Venezuela the capybara are hunted commercially during the dry season on the open
savannah. They are easily located in the open area, rounded up and driven by mounted hunters to
a prearranged spot. Here they are surrounded and the adults with cubs are slaughtered. This
slaughter can be as many as 200 animals a day. They are either gutted in the field or transported
to a camp or slaughter house. 1 All of which are cruel and highly stressful to the animals.
Another increase in the demand for capybara meat was
caused by the Roman Catholic Church, which demands that
its adherents forgo the consumption of any form of meat
besides fish during Lent. Capybara meat is similar to richer
meats such as chicken and pork. The Europeans who
discovered this submitted a petition to the Church. The semiaquatic capybara spends most of its day in the water, so they
argued that it should be considered a fish (see left
http://www.earlham.edu/~martilu/capypicinh2o.gif ). Despite
the fact that the capybara is of no relation to the fish, the
Roman Catholic Church agreed to call it a fish and ever
since hundreds of people have eaten capybara during Lent.
Now ranchers find it profitable to harvest and sell capybara meat in addition to their normal
harvest of cattle and caiman during Lent. Almost 80 tons of capybara meat is collected
annually, most of it during or immediately preceding Lent.
However, some action has been taken against this hunting and the decline in the number of
capybara was noted by the Ministry of the Environment, and Capybara hunting is currently either
regulated or proscribed in most Latin American countries. In Venezuela, commercial hunting is
allowed, but only in accordance with the following principles:
1. The management units are the livestock farms of the llanos region
2. Licenses are granted only to owners with exploitable populations on their farms.
3. The harvest quotas are established on the basis of population sizes on each farm,
determined by officials of the Ministry of the Environment.
4. A harvest rate of about 30% is applicable, which experience since 1968 has shown will
maintain a fairly stationary population.
5. The minimum weight is 35kg.
6. Each slab of meat is marked with a safety seal indicating the point of origin and
facilitating controls.
7. A bill of lading is required for transporting the product to market.
8. Fees are levied during transfer by the National Guard and occasionally in the market
place.
Between 1979 and 1984, 56 to 106 licenses were granted each year. 75-89% resulted in
capybara capture, for a total harvest rate of 60 000-80 000 per year. Subsequently
populations fell so much that the Ministry of the Environment enacted a much more restrictive
policy. 1
Capybaras are also kept in captivity at zoos, but I believe that keeping the capybara in captivity
could promote inbreeding, because there would be less distribution of the animal than there is in
the wild. Cross-breeding two inbred lines can typically produce a hybrid that is more vigorous
than either parent, known as hybrid vigour. The offspring are heterozygous at many loci. 4
However, Inbreeding depression occurs when closely related individuals breed, causing higher
risk for the offspring inheriting two copies of harmful recessive alleles (see genetic diagram
below).
This inbreeding can cause
mutations and increase the
likelihood of inheriting diseases
because there are less possible
combinations of alleles to produce
the gene.
It could also lead to changes in the
capybara and the way it is adapted
to survive in its natural habitat, for
example, a mutation causing the
capybara to lose their webbed feet
(see left for webbed feet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Capybara_Hattiesburg_Zoo_(70909b-58)_2560x1600.jpg ) so
they can no longer swim as efficiently or have a different coating of hair. If these mutations
entered the gene pool then the capybara would soon die out in the wild, as they would no longer
have the ability to stay in the water for long periods of time to take refuge from predators.
However, at the moment, zoos are preventing the inbreeding of the capybara by the use of a
studbook. This is a log of all data on the capybara in all the zoos, containing all their details. Each
animal has its own unique number; this number can be used to check that when breeding the
animal it is not breed with a relative, as I found from asking a keeper at the zoo.
Selective breeding: in captivity.
Genetic diagram
Key
Let A = Webbed feet (normal allele)
Let a = Not webbed feet (mutant allele)
Phenotype – Webbed feet x Webbed feet (parents have webbed feet but carry the allele
for non webbed feet)
Genotype – Aa x Aa
Gametes – A, a, A, a
Gametes
A
a
A
AA
Aa
a
Aa
aa
The blue shading shows the possible genotypes of the offspring. Notice how there will be a 1 in 4
chance of the offspring not having webbed feet.
On the other hand, captive breeding could be an alternative to the hunting of wild capybara. This
could ensure that the capybara in the wild maintain population and prevent them being hunted or
being removed from the wild, as I think that they could be farmed for meat. The capybara could
be bred like cows and other farmed animals which would mean the hunters could gain a real job
farming the capybara and economically benefit. This intensive breeding was trialled in 5ha flood
savannah meadows and it was discovered that breeding at higher densities than a net annual
production of 27kg/ha was unsustainable, as the grasses were trampled during the flood period. 1
Economically the cost of fencing to contain the capybara in the area is the limiting factor in
extensive capybara breeding. To improve the cost/benefit ratio an area with more floodplains,
raised areas, woodland and bodies of water would be advised. 1 I believe that this would provide
more land area for the capybara to have a good quality of life and resemble more closely their
natural habitat.
Therefore the farming of capybara would be more ethical as the capybara would not be in cages
or confined to small spaces, but in a fenced off large meadow. In the future these farms of
capybara could become more common, as there has been an increase in the demand for the raw
materials from capybara, particularly meat. So in order to meet demand, a capybara farmer could
selectively breed the capybara to produce animals with desired features, such as a larger muscle
bulk so more meat can be made from one animal so less are killed. This would be done by
breeding together two capybara with the most muscle bulk and continuing this breeding over
many generations. It may be that in the future it is common visit the supermarket and
purchase capybara meat, with the meat already being used in Argentina and Uruguay for
sausage-making. 1 McDonalds is currently under pressure by the public to produce healthier
foods and I think that in the future they will use capybara meat as a healthier alternative for
making its burgers. As capybara meat is lower in fat due to their diet consisting mainly of grass.
"They have just 1.5% fat content in their meat, compared with up to 20% for cows.2"Also they
would have less problems with religious communities such as Catholics as I already mentioned,
who cannot eat meat around Lent, so McDonalds would gain more customers.
Evaluation of the relative validity of the information I gathered from different
sources.
Sources 1 and 2: I found that the capybara is currently classified as a common species in the
2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. But I did further research after finding that the
capybara is being hunted, as I realised that this would definitely have an affect on the population
of capybara in the wild. And as I had expected I found that the hunting was causing "local
extinctions or scarcity in many localities)" on the website
www.fao.org/docrep/T0750E/t0750eOo.htm .But I felt that this wasn't sufficient evidence as this
website might not be valid, because this was another person's research and I wanted to carry out
my own. So to support my argument, this is, that classifying the capybara as common, causes
people to be unaware that the number of capybara in the wild is declining as a result of the
hunting. I found the statistic, "Today barely 100,000 capybaras are left in Venezuela.2" On the
website www.rebsig.com/capybara/capymeat.html .
Sources 1 and 3: These were finding information about the environment in which the capybara
live and the destruction of this environment. I found out about the natural habitat of the Capybara
by using three different sources and they all agreed with each other. The information I quoted
was taken from www.fao.org/docrep/T0750E/t0750eOo.htm but I checked this with the
information stated in Animal, an animal fact book and the information was very similar and also
with the information I found on an information board next to the capybara enclosure at Chester
zoo. In this book I also took the information, "farming has created grassland, the hill pastures of
Europe and New Zealand, for example are a result of deforestation several centuries ago3"which
is reliable because it is common in farming to cut down trees to make land for crops or livestock.
"In the past grassland covered about two fifths of the earth's land surface. This grassland is being
destroyed for agricultural use 3" was also taken from Animal and I knew this information is
correct, as there has been an increase in farming, due to increased demand by a larger population
of people.
Source 1: Information on how the hunting of capybara is carried out and the restrictions around it
was taken from www.fao.org/docrep/T0750E/t0750eOo.htm and was supported by
www.bio.davidson.edu/people/vecase/behavior/spring2002/willoughby/other.html. This stated
that "governments in the area enacted laws to protect these creatures" and "increased enforcement
laws".
Source 1 and 2: I found that capybara meat is "already being used in Argentina and Uruguay for
sausage-making 1" from the website www.fao.org/docrep/T0750E/t0750eOo.htm and that
capybara meat is low in fat on the website www.rebsig.com/capybara/capymeat.html. I also
found evidence to support the idea that people eat capybara currently in these countries,
information on the website
www.bio.davidson.edulpeople/vecase/behavior/spring2002/willoughby/other.html.
Bibliography
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Capy meat in the news by Bart Jones (August 1999)
http://www.rebsig.com/capybara/capymeat.html [Accessed on Monday 3rdMarch 2008 at
12:44pm]
http://www.fao.org/docrep/T0750E/t0750eOo.htm [Accessed on Friday 29th February 2008
at 12:51pm]
Other Tidbits About the Capybara (Spring 2002) by Ian Willoughby. 'Tidbits' section
http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/vecase/behavior/spring2002/willoughby/other.html
[Accessed on Monday 3rd March 2008 at 12:51pm]
http://www.ses-explore.org/gfx/Expeditions/KMVlojaki.jpg [Accessed on Tuesday 4thMarch
2008 at 12:50pm]
http://www.fao.org/docrep/v7795eN7795e02.htm [Accessed on Tuesday 4th March 2008 at
14:48pm]
http://www.earlham.edu/~martilu/capypicinh20.gif [Accessed on Tuesday 4th March 2008 at
12:46pm]
http://www2.ville.montrea1.qc.ca [Accessed on Tuesday 4thMarch 2008 at 12:46pm]
http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk [Accessed on Wednesday 5thMarch 2008 at 12:40pm]
The picture of the capybara number 5 was taken by me at Chester zoo on 21st February 2008.
Chester zoo information board by the capybara enclosure on 21st February2008.
Dr Juliet Clutton-Brock (2001) Animal, chapter mammals, pp. 86-257. David Bumie (ed).
London: Dorling Kindersley Limited.
Barker S. Bridgeman M. Colyer M. Geatrell B. Heppleston P. Knight C. Lillford P. Slingsby
D. Smith M. Wilson J. Winterbottom M. (2005) Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology AS. Topic
4: Plants and climate change. pp. 144-210. Halley Court, Jordan Hill, Oxford. Heinemann
Educational Publishers.
1. http://www.fao.org/docreprr0750E/t0750eOo.htm
2. http://www.rebsig.comlcapybaralcapymeat.html
3. Animal
4. Salter’s-Nuffield Advanced Biology AS
5. http://www.ses-explore.org/gfx/Expeditions/KMVlojaki.jpg
6. http://www.fao.org/docrep/v7795eN7795e02.htm
7. http://www.earlham.edu/~martilu/capypicinh2o.gif
8. http://www2.ville.montrea1.qc.ca
9. http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk
10. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Bristol.zoo.capybara.arp.jpg
NB. Some ‘visuals’ and graphs are not included because of copyright reasons.