Feds Bar Rare Zebra From Breeding
AP 9jan01
 |
CATLETT, VA -- A 4-year-old zebra named Barcode has reached his sexual maturity and is ready to do his part to perpetuate his rare and threatened species.
But the federal government has banned Barcode from breeding, saying his uncertain pedigree could do more harm than good. So he spends his days roaming a northern Virginia farm, lonely and looking for love.
``He is caught in an ethical dilemma,'' said Barcode's owner, Corine Schmitz. ``He's a stallion. His being alone, without a female, is almost inhumane.''
Barcode is a Grevy's zebra. Only about 5,400 of them exist in the wild, with about 200 more in North American zoos. Under federal law they are a threatened species -- not as dire as endangered, but still protected.
Schmitz, a 37-year-old hospital nurse who trains horses as a hobby, bought Barcode three years ago from a doctor in Texas. She said she did not know it was illegal under federal law for her to transport the animal to Virginia. Her intention at the time was to breed him, or at least freeze his sperm for future breeding efforts.
``I grew up in Zaire, and I saw a lot of poaching, a lot of destruction of habitat,'' Schmitz said. ``There's going to be less and less genetic diversity.''
As she raised Barcode, Schmitz trained him like a horse and eventually learned to ride him, to the amazement of most everybody familiar with equines. The two led a parade in Warrenton two years ago, and she even completed a 35-mile endurance race.
When Schmitz learned that she had broken the law by bringing Barcode to Virginia, she contacted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Normally, the government would seize an animal like Barcode, but agents made an exception in Schmitz's case.
``She's obviously built a rapport with this animal. It takes a long time to develop that kind of bond,'' said wildlife agent Mary Holt. ``The best place for that animal to be is with her.''
Holt said she and other agents made extra efforts to help Schmitz get a special permit that would allow Barcode to participate in an accredited breeding program.
But his pedigree is uncertain, and experts say that breeding a Grevy's zebra with an unknown family history could do more harm than good to preservation efforts.
Michael Hutchins, director of conservation for the American Zoo and Aquarium Association in Silver Spring, Md., said Barcode could be inbred and thereby introduce a variety of genetic defects to his offspring. Even if he is not inbred, he could unknowingly be bred to a family member and produce inbred offspring. DNA testing for genetic defects in zebras is too expensive and unsophisticated to be helpful, Hutchins said.
``My suggestion would be to have him sterilized,'' he said. ``There's not a pronounced need for him in the conservation breeding program.''
Last month, the Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to let Schmitz keep Barcode but prohibited her from breeding or selling him, both to keep the gene pool pure and to prevent Schmitz from profiting on him.
To comply with the order, Schmitz has removed a female mare that had recently become the object of Barcode's amorous intentions.
``A hundred years from now, they'll look back on this in shame,'' she said.
|
If you have come to this page from an outside location click here to get back to mindfully.org |
