Wildlife and Poultry Program
ASI. NARC
 

Wildlife Conservation/Management
Our country Pakistan is a land of spectacular scenery, having some of the largest and beautiful mountain ranges, rivers, deserts and forests. Due to diverse eco-zone it has a variety of habitat types hosting a rich and diversified and the rarest wildlife species of the world.

Captive Breeding of Native Wildlife Species at wild life Research Section
Peacock	Jungle Fowl chicks	Jungle Fowl

Wildlife is an important natural resource and national heritage of our country. But unfortunately our this valuable heritage and resource have been adversely affected due to human population explosion, advent of industrial and technological innovation, natural habitat degradation (deforestation), and indiscriminate hunting and poaching. Most of our beautiful wild birds and animals are endangered and some of them facing danger of extinction due to reasons mentioned above. To save the valuable National heritage/resources is defined as “preservation, protection, or restoration of wildlife and their environment, especially in relation to endangered and vulnerable species. All living non-domesticated animals, even if bred, hatched or born in captivity, are considered wild animals. Wildlife represents all the non-cultivated and non-domesticated animals living in their natural habitats
 

Wildlife Management

Wildlife management is a general term for the process of keeping wild species at desirable levels which are determined by the wildlife managers in the public interest through balance ecosystem and healthy environment as People are more important than the resources their needs must be addressed through wise and scientific management of all natural resources on sustainable basis.

As explained above In addition to habitat degradation and ruthless haunting and poaching, improper management has been an important factor in taking these species to their present status. Lack of scientific data about the biology and ecology of these species from their natural habitat and captivity is a major constraint in their scientific management/farming. In order to conserve and manage these valuable wildlife species, in nature and in captivity, data on biology, ecology and behavior of wildlife species is needed but it is very difficult to record the exact observations of some wildlife species due to their peculiar shy-habits in their inaccessible natural habitat and it remains the main hurdle in their management in natural habitat as well as in captivity i.e. in wildlife safaris, reserves, sanctuaries, farms and wildlife parks. Roughly 10% of all present species in the world needs captive breeding exercises to save their gene pool in the world. To address these issues at national forum PARC has established Wildlife Research Section at NARC.

Deer Farming

Deer farming has been well established for a century or more in the Far East. However, it is a new enterprise elsewhere which during recent years has been increasingly accepted as an economically promising industry. New species have been successfully tried and farming techniques are becoming more sophisticated. Many deer farms are, however, improperly run because either the owners or managers are not up-to-date with deer husbandry methods, or they lack relevant knowledge of the biology of the species concerned. Deer farming also play a role in wildlife conservation/management.

blue bull at NARC Enclosure	Hog Deer farming, NARC Enclosure	Hog deer farming-Two days old deer fawn

Deer farming” is mainly focused on the production of deer meat and by-products - including hides, velvet, antlers and musk, - on a commercial basis. In future, deer farms could play an important role in rural land use planning, because they can be established as economically viable units on land that is presently marginal to conventional live-stock operations or other types of land use. This is one reason why deer farming is suitable in developing countries, like Pakistan where the development of this industry seems feasible.
 

GLIMPSES OF CAPTIVE BREEDING /DEER FARMING – AT WILDLIFE RESEARCH SECTION OF ASI, NARC, ISLAMABAD

Hog Deer member of family (Cervidae) is found in the areas stretching from Pakistan, through northern India, to mainland Southeast Asia. In its native range, the Hog Deer is associated with major river systems and floodplains. The Deer primarily inhabit grassland and riverine forests. Diet Hog Deer are grazers, feeding on a range of native grasses. Hog Deer reproduce irregularly and as such do not conform to a well defined breeding season. This is consistent with other Asiatic deer species such as Sambar Deer (Cervus unicolor) and Chital Deer (Axis axis).

Irregular breeding provides Hog Deer with the capacity to recover and expand its numbers faster than any other deer species. Hog deer, although small in size, were also considered suitable for deer farming because they readily adapt to the wide range of habitat. In addition, their meat is highly appreciated. (Miller, 1975).Hog Deer meat was also judged best tasting wild game meat by the Exotic Wildlife Association. It is a mild, naturally tender red meat. It contains less than 1% fat and can be marketed as fat free and with low cholesterol.
 

Based on the scientific data on biology of Hog deer recorded at Wildlife Research Section of ASI, NARC and other good traits of this deer as revealed in the scientific literature reviewed this deer is suitable for deer farming in our country as alternative protein source.
 

Urial	Hog deer fawn	Blue Bull Enclosure at NARC

Similarly Urial(Ovis orientalis vignei ) a wild sheep of Potohar sub mountainous tract has been selected for cross breeding with local sheep. Crossbreeding refers to the breeding of animal, with the intention to create offspring that share the traits of both parents with desirable traits. Punjab urial (Ovis vignei punjabiensis) is endemic to northern Punjab, Pakistan. Cross breeding of the Urial with domestic sheep results in a change meat quality, the meat of game animal is liked by people and availability of such meat by cross breeding will provide strength to livestock mutton industry as alternative source of protein.
 

Keeping in view this scenario, PARC has taken a lead to introduce deer farming in Pakistan. It has been started on small scale at NARC, ASI to study captive breeding, feeding and other behavioral parameters of different deer species in captivity. This effort is anticipated to open new vistas of deer farming research and development in the country. Necessary facilities and other infrastructure have been established and a few required deer have been shifted to Wildlife Research Section of NARC. The scientific information/technology developed in this discipline is being shared with researchers, students, wildlife farmers, breeders and wildlife management and conservation related organizations & NGOs.

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