BigCats.com, where ALL wildcats are Big Cats!
Among the following, what is your highest priority?
Legal Protection for Wild Cats : 53.98%
Wild Cat Habitat Conservation : 33.21%
Captive Breeding Programs : 8.46%
Genetic and Reproductive Research : 4.34%
Total Votes : 1406
While legal protection for wild cats is important, you would have difficulty disputing the fact that it will not succeed if the protected cats have no place to live. The converse is also true, such that cats can be (and have been) hunted to extinction in an otherwise acceptable environment. Fortunately we don't have to choose just one or the other - we can conserve habitat and provide legal protection for the cats at the same time. I agree with the survey respondents that in general captive breeding should take a lower priority, although in some very desperate situations, captive breeding is the only remaining option for saving a dieing population. Lastly, while genetic and reproductive research is a hot topic that spawns many academic publications, it is truly a last resort that should not be allowed to compete for conservation resources while other more reliable options still exist.