Wildlife health
A range of anthropogenic drivers including habitat loss and degradation, novel land use, climate change, introduction of non-native species, pathogen pollution and toxics are creating a range of health issues which are negatively impacting the health of wildlife and their wetland habitats. WWT has built a reputation of expertise in wildlife health over the decades due originally to our scanning and active surveillance for diseases in waterbirds. Today WWT’s approach to promoting healthy wildlife in wetlands, with benefits for people and livestock, is founded around an integrated approach of surveillance, research, action and disease management, policy, capacity building, and communication and coordination and producing communications mechanisms to promote health.
Projects
- Avian influenza surveillance
- Botulism and chytrid at WWT centres
- Chytridiomycosis
- CMS/FAO Scientific Task Force on Avian Influenza and Wild Birds
- Defra’s GB Wildlife Disease Surveillance Partnership
- Developing improved diagnostics
- Disease risk analysis and health management strategies for translocations
- FAO AI manuals
- Illegal shooting
- Lead poisoning
- Pathogen removal in treatment reedbeds
- Promoting resolutions on avian influenza and other wildlife health issues
- Ramsar Wetland Disease Manual
- Sarcocystosis
- Training conservation and health professionals to promote health in wetlands
- wetlandhealth.org