Rearing For Reintroduction | Seminar 2016

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Rearing For Reintroduction

By Dr. David Butler

During the past 10-15 years many British farms and sporting estates have begun creating wild gamebird shoots. Instead of releasing gamebirds to supplement stocks for the shooting season, they often release a much smaller number specifically for breeding the following year. With suitable habitat and management prescriptions in place, these birds can successfully re-establish a wild population within a few years. Using grey partridges, Perdix perdix, as an example, I will discuss the various extensive rearing and releasing techniques currently used to reintroduce birds to areas where they have become extinct. I will also discuss the economics of these rearing systems and whether they offer a business opportunity to game farms in the United States.

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About The Presenter

After graduating with a degree in wildlife and conservation management, Dave took up a position as a wildlife research technician at the Warnell School of Forest Resources at the University of Georgia, USA. While here, he conducted research into the ecology and management of northern bobwhite (quail) on the pineland plantations in southern Georgia and northern Florida. Based at Tall Timbers Research Station, he completed a PhD on the ecology and behaviour of wild and human-imprinted bobwhite chicks a few years later. After returning to the UK, he worked as a Post Doctoral Research Scientist for the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust for a few years before deciding to start a wildlife research, management and supplies company called Perdix. To date, Dave has published various peer reviewed papers on a range of topics including wildlife management, animal behaviour, animal welfare and eco-toxicology. In addition to managing Perdix, he still actively continues his applied research, particularly in relation to developing extensive gamebird breeding techniques.