Riley, S 2019, 'Wildlife law and animal welfare: competing interests and ethics' in Scholtz, W (ed), Animal Welfare and International Environmental Law, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham UK, pp. 148-179.
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The purpose of this chapter is threefold: to evaluate how and why disengagement with wildlife welfare occurred; why it persisted; and what role international law has, and can, play in remediating the disengagement. The discussion starts with national jurisdictions, drawing examples from the Australian State of New South Wales (NSW). As NSW was an English colony for part of the time under consideration, examples are also drawn from English law and policy.18 The discussion also evaluates e complex reasons for the persistence of disengagement, extending the analysis to international regimes. The analysis critiques wildlife regulation that centres on human constructs, particularly the influence of the useful/harmful dichotomy, as well as reviewing the lack of political will in regulating competing human interests in wildlife. These approaches create a paradox where regulation depends on the classification of species, so in one sense regimes are species-focused, but at the same time, regulation is strikingly anthropocentric because classifications also focus on the usefulness of species to humans. Animals are treated instrumentally, with little regard to cruel practices. This was, and still is, the case even with useful species that can be used as long as they can also continue to be managed as a resource.
The chapter finishes by examining suggestions for improvement, including expanding the purview of existing treaty systems, establishing a new international organization for animal welfare and integrating compassionate conservation into decision making. It is concluded that an ethic based on compassionate conservation shows promise for transforming existing ideologies, allowing society to manage, in an ethical way, the environment that it has unambiguously shaped.
Austin, CM & Ramp, D 2019, 'Behavioural Plasticity by Eastern Grey Kangaroos in Response to Human Behaviour', Animals, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 244-244.
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Sharing landscapes with humans is an increasingly fraught challenge for wildlife across the globe. While some species benefit from humans by exploiting novel opportunities (e.g., provision of resources or removal of competitors or predators), many wildlife experience harmful effects, either directly through persecution or indirectly through loss of habitat. Consequently, some species have been shown to be attracted to human presence while others avoid us. For any given population of a single species, though, the question of whether they can recognise and change their response to human presence depending on the type of human actions (i.e., either positive or negative) has received little attention to date. In this study, we chose to examine the behavioural plasticity within a single population of eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) to both positive and negative human activity. Within a relatively small and contiguous landscape, we identified areas where kangaroos experience a combination of either low and high frequencies of benign and harmful human disturbances. From six sampling sessions over five months, we found that density and group sizes were higher where humans acted benignly towards them, and that these groups had higher representations of sub-adults and juveniles than where humans had harmful intentions. Importantly, we found that the vital antipredator strategy of increasing group size with distance from cover was not detectable at sites with low and high levels of harm. Our findings suggest that these kangaroos are recognising and adjusting their behavioural response to humans at fine spatial scales, a plasticity trait that may be key to the survival of these species in human dominated landscapes.
Austin, CM & Ramp, D 2019, 'Flight responses of eastern gray kangaroos to benign or harmful human behavior', Ecology and Evolution, vol. 9, no. 24, pp. 13824-13834.
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AbstractGlobally, wilderness is being converted for rural and agricultural land use. In countryside landscapes, many habitat structures remain intact, providing suitable habitat for wildlife species that can accurately assess novel risks and develop tolerance to benign disturbances. Associative learning that promotes avoidance and also facilitates desensitization to benign disturbance is key to persisting in these landscapes. Conversely, learning to distinguish and avoid negative interactions with humans, like hunting, is vital. To determine if eastern gray kangaroos are capable of learning from previous interactions with humans, we tested the flight responses of wild kangaroos which have previously experienced either low or high frequencies of harmful and benign encounters with humans. We found that eastern gray kangaroos rapidly habituated to benign disturbance as there was no significant difference in assessment distance between groups that previously experienced low or high frequencies of disturbance. The threat of harmful disturbances was not as quickly learnt, as groups that experienced low frequencies of harmful disturbance delayed flight longer than those experiencing frequent harm. We found that the influence of environmental and group parameters on a kangaroo's decision to flee depended on the intent and frequency of previous interactions with humans. Our study indicates that kangaroos are learning from previous encounters with humans, correctly assessing novel risks which may be contributing to their persistence in countryside landscapes.
Harvey, AM, Meggiolaro, MN, Hall, E, Watts, ET, Ramp, D & Šlapeta, J 2019, 'Wild horse populations in south-east Australia have a high prevalence of Strongylus vulgaris and may act as a reservoir of infection for domestic horses', International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, vol. 8, pp. 156-163.
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© 2019 The Authors Australia has over 400,000 wild horses, the largest wild equid population in the world, scattered across a range of different habitats. We hypothesised that wild horse populations unexposed to anthelmintics would have a high prevalence of Strongylus vulgaris infections. Verminous endarteritis and colic due to migrating S. vulgaris larvae is now absent or unreported in domestic horses in Australia, yet wild horses may pose a risk for its re-emergence. A total of 289 faecal egg counts (FECs) were performed across six remote wild horse populations in south-east Australia, of varying densities, herd sizes and habitats. Total strongyle egg counts ranged from 50 to 3740 eggs per gram (EPG, mean 1443) and 89% (257/289) of faecal samples had > 500 EPG, classifying them as ‘high level shedders’. There were significant differences in mean total strongyle FECs between different locations, habitats and population densities. Occurrence of S. vulgaris was not predictable based on FECs of total strongyle eggs or small (<90 μm) strongyle eggs. A high prevalence of S. vulgaris DNA in faecal samples was demonstrated across all six populations, with an overall predicted prevalence of 96.7%. This finding is important, because of the ample opportunity for transmission to domestic horses. The high prevalence of S. vulgaris suggests vigilance is required when adopting wild horses, or when domestic horses graze in environments inhabited by wild horses. Appropriate veterinary advise is required to minimize disease risk due to S. vulgaris. Monitoring horses for S. vulgaris using larval culture or qPCR remains prudent. Gastrointestinal parasites in wild horse populations may also serve as parasite refugia, thus contributing to integrated parasite management when facing emerging anthelmintic resistance.
Newby, Z, Murphy, RJ, Guest, DI, Ramp, D & Liew, ECY 2019, 'Detecting symptoms of Phytophthora cinnamomi infection in Australian native vegetation using reflectance spectrometry: complex effects of water stress and species susceptibility', Australasian Plant Pathology, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 409-424.
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Nolan, RH, Sinclair, J, Waters, CM, Mitchell, PJ, Eldridge, DJ, Paul, KI, Roxburgh, S, Butler, DW & Ramp, D 2019, 'Risks to carbon dynamics in semi-arid woodlands of eastern Australia under current and future climates', Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 235, pp. 500-510.
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© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Extreme disturbance events, such as wildfire and drought, have large impacts on carbon storage and sequestration of forests and woodlands globally. Here, we present a modelling approach that assesses the relative impact of disturbances on carbon storage and sequestration, and how this will alter under climate change. Our case study is semi-arid Australia where large areas of land are managed to offset over 122 million tonnes of anthropogenic carbon emissions over a 100-year period. These carbon offsets include mature vegetation that has been protected from clearing and regenerating vegetation on degraded agricultural land. We use a Bayesian Network model to combine multiple probabilistic models of the risk posed by fire, drought, grazing and recruitment failure to carbon dynamics. The model is parameterised from a review of relevant literature and additional quantitative analyses presented here. We found that the risk of vegetation becoming a net source of carbon due to a mortality event, or failing to realise maximum sequestration potential, through recruitment failure in regenerating vegetation, was primarily a function of rainfall in this semi-arid environment. However, the relative size of an emissions event varied across vegetation communities depending on plant attributes, specifically resprouting capacity. Modelled climate change effects were variable, depending on the climate change projection used. Under ‘best-case’ or ‘most-likely’ climate scenarios for 2050, similar or increased projections of mean annual precipitation, associated with a build-up of fuel, were expected to drive an increase in fire activity (a 40–160% increase), but a decrease in drought (a 20–35% decrease). Under a ‘worst-case’ climate scenario, fire activity was expected to decline (a 37% decrease), but drought conditions remain similar (a 5% decrease). These projected changes to the frequency of drought and fire increase the risk that vegetation used for...
Riley, S 2019, 'Listening to nature's voice: invasive species, Earth jurisprudence and compassionate conservation', Asia Pacific Journal of Environmental Law, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 117-136.
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Humanity's land management practices reconstruct nature by destroying and degrading habitats, species and ecosystems, and creating environmental imbalance. The latter can manifest in overabundant or invasive species, imposing a welfare burden on unwanted animals when they are targeted for eradication and control. Such approaches not only overlook animal wellbeing, but also ignore the role that humans have played in species’ classifications. As societies grapple to manage the unstable environments they have created, they have also started to realize that standards set by paradigms, such as sustainable development, do not sufficiently engage with the efficacy or ethics of existing practices. This article argues that a synthesis of law and science, drawn respectively from emerging paradigms, such as the Great Law of Earth jurisprudence and principles of compassionate conservation, can help guide environmental regimes towards more effective and ethical outcomes. From a legal perspective, the Great Law subordinates human law to a metaphorical nature's voice, while from a scientific perspective the scientific underpinnings of compassionate conservation identify that voice. Although compassionate conservation injects empathy into the decision-making processes, it is a form of empathy based on science that commences from the stipulation that regulators should first do no harm. It is a call that is specifically relevant to invasive species, where current regulation is based on harming certain species, while simultaneously overlooking environmental threats generated by humans. By using science to identify nature's voice, and law to listen to that voice, regulators can start to design regimes that work with nature, rather than trying to reconstruct and dominate it.
Riley, S 2019, 'The Changing Legal Status of Cats in Australia: From Friend of the Settlers, to Enemy of the Rabbit, and Now a Threat to Biodiversity and Biosecurity Risk', Frontiers in Veterinary Science, vol. 5.
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Schaffner, JE, Wandesforde-Smith, G, Wolf, PJ, Levy, J, Riley, S & Farnworth, MJ 2019, 'Editorial: Sustaining Innovation in Compassionate Free-Roaming Cat Management Across the Globe: A Decadal Reappraisal of the Practice and Promise of Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (TNVR)', Frontiers in Veterinary Science, vol. 6.
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Wooster, E, Wallach, AD & Ramp, D 2019, 'The Wily and Courageous Red Fox: Behavioural Analysis of a Mesopredator at Resource Points Shared by an Apex Predator', Animals, vol. 9, no. 11, pp. 907-907.
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The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a widespread and ecologically significant terrestrial mesopredator, that has expanded its range with human globalisation. Despite this, we know relatively little about their behaviour under the wide range of ecological conditions they experience, particularly how they navigate the risk of encounters with apex predators. We conducted the first ethological study of foxes outside their historic native range, in Australia, where both the foxes and their main predator were protected from human hunting. Using remote camera traps, we recorded foxes visiting key resource points regularly utilised by territorial dingoes (Canis dingo), their local apex predator, in the Painted Desert, South Australia. We constructed an ethogram sensitive to a range of behaviours and attitudes. Since foxes are suppressed by dingoes, we expected that the foxes would primarily be in a cautious state. In contrast, we found that foxes were in a confident state most of the time. Where human hunting is absent, social stability of predators may increase predictability and therefore decrease fear.
Yanco, E, Nelson, MP & Ramp, D 2019, 'Cautioning against overemphasis of normative constructs in conservation decision making', Conservation Biology, vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 1002-1013.
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AbstractQuestions around how to conserve nature are increasingly leading to dissonance in conservation planning and action. While science can assist in unraveling the nature of conservation challenges, conservation responses rely heavily on normative positions and constructs to order actions, aid interpretations, and provide motivation. However, problems can arise when norms are mistaken for science or when they stymy scientific rigor. To highlight these potential pitfalls, we used the ethics‐based tool of argument analysis to assess a controversial conservation intervention, the Pelorus Island Goat Control Program. The program proponents' argument for restorative justice was unsound because it relied on weak logical construction overly entrenched in normative assumptions. Overreliance on normative constructs, particularly the invocation of tragedy, creates a sense of urgency that can subvert scientific and ethical integrity, obscure values and assumptions, and increase the propensity for flawed logic. This example demonstrates how the same constructs that drive biodiversity conservation can also drive poor decision making, spur public backlash, and justify poor animal welfare outcomes. To provide clarity, a decision‐making flowchart we devised demonstrates how values, norms, and ethics influence one another. We recommend practitioners follow 3 key points to improve decision making: be aware of values, as well as normative constructs and ethical theories that those values inform; be mindful of overreliance on either normative constructs or ethics when deciding action is justified; and be logically sound and transparent when building justifications. We also recommend 5 key attributes that practitioners should be attentive to when making conservation decisions: clarity, transparency, scientific integrity, adaptiveness, and compassion. Greater attention to the role of norms in decision making will...
