EAZA Ex-situ Programme

Zoo animals are vulnerable to three very serious breeding problems inherent to small, artificial populations: inbreeding depression, loss of genetic variability, and accumulation of deleterious mutations.

Following such guidelines should sharply reduce possibilities of breeding problems and concurrently should maximize the number of generations in which the original founding diversity can be maintained.

The application of these guidelines, and many others tailored to specific populations, results in strictly controlled breeding programmes in which nothing is left to chance.

This species is currently threatened with the destruction of habitat and poaching, for trade of its parts in traditional oriental medicine or as a trophy.

[5] The largest problem encountered in the functioning of the EEP is undoubtedly the actual execution of breeding management recommendations: it is often difficult to develop policies applicable to an entire group of zoos (varying from 10 to well over 50 depending on the species programme) when these are spread throughout several countries with different languages and laws, and with dissimilar political and economic backgrounds.

Just the incongruencies in laws can sometimes make exchange of specimens for breeding purposes by two closely situated zoos a formidable task if a border happens to lie between them.

The North America counterpart is the Species Survival Plan, and Australian, Japanese, Indian, and Chinese[7] zoos also have similar programs.