Bison-Rewilding-Plan-2014

STAFFAN WIDSTRAND / REWILDING EUROPEbased tourism makes a much higher contribution.Carcasses of bison that died from natural causesand were left in the wild would make a morepositive contribution to the overall ecosystem,feeding other species in the area, a particularlyimportant source of food throughout winterand early spring. Furthermore natural selectionis preferred above human selection in order tostrengthen the genetic basis of the population.Bison culled in 2004-2013 in theBialowieza Forest (PL):2004 36 (19 males, 17 females)2005 38 (15, 23)2006 30 (16, 14)2007 28 (11, 17)2008 23 (12, 11)2009 30 (20, 10)2010 18 (13, 5)2011 18 (10, 8)2012 20 (13, 7)2013 21 (14, 7)Total: 262 (143, 119)Guiding principles:• For Rewilding Europe it is vital to createconservation partnerships with otherorganisations involved in the managementof bison reintroductions in order to ensurea coordinated approach.• Rewilding Europe advocates an approachwhereby wild bison populations are allowedto grow to natural densities with minimalhuman management where possible; thusestablishing wild human-independent andself-regulating populations. Stimulatinghigh numbers of bison through settingtargets for annual growth rates in each ofthe rewilding areas (a minimum of five) isa crucial strategy to safeguard the species.• Rewilding Europe believes that culling isan unacceptable part of current Europeanbison management and it will not formpart of our approach. Instead a strong effortis needed to identify and prepare areaswhere these bison can be used for buildingnew or additional wild populations.33