Eradication campaigns using fumigants have eliminated vizcachas from parts of the cultivated portion of their range;
Population Trend
Unknown/not recorded
Sub-national Level
Unknown/not recorded
Additional Details (if available)
In Argentina this species was classified as the source of a national plague in 1905 and was eradicated from many areas (Godoy 1963). It is also hunted commercially for meat and fur (Spotorno and Patton 2015).
Name
Emma Hemmerlé
Scientific Name
Lagostomus maximus
Common Name(s)
Vizcacha
Plains Viscacha
Type of Use
Extractive (i.e., the entire organism or parts of the organism are removed from its environment)
If extractive, for the target species, is this use
Are specific characteristics/traits being targeted?
Unknown/not recorded
Purpose of Use
Basic subsistence (meeting day to day essential needs)
Recreational
Additional Details (if available)
The vizcacha is important in semi-arid marginal zones as a source of meat and pelts; for sport hunting; and because of the damage it does to vegetation and the carrying capacity for domestic livestock.
What is the main end use for any living organisms, parts or products taken/extracted?
Is the use part of a strategy to generate conservation incentives, to finance conservation, or to improve tolerance/stewardship?
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting the conservation status of the species? HIDE
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting natural selection?
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting poaching of illegal wildlife trade?
Unknown/not reported
Is there any evidence that this use of the species is having a knock-on effect on the status of non-target species
Unknown/not recorded
Yes, positive (e.g., it increases / retains land area for conservation)
Additional Details (if available)
Evidence suggests that overgrazing and habitat degradation in
semi-arid zones actually facilitate colonization by Lagostomus. Once established, the animals then modify and degrade the environment still more, allowing for further expansion of the vizcacheras. Therefore, encouraging and rationalizing vizcacha hunting would help to control the vizcacha's numbers and impact on rangeland.
Details of assessment carried out
Their abundance in most parts of their range, despite efforts to eliminate them, indicate that populations are large, widespread and resilient. Many colonies that have been hunted heavily for many years still survive. The abundance and resilience of vizcachas make them a good candidate for a sustainable use project - marketing the meat and using the proceeds to improve management and demonstrate the economic benefits of sustainable use.
Has a valuation of financial flows from this use at the site/national/international level been recorded
Information is scarce on the socioeconomic role of wildlife; and few people appreciate its values and contribution to the regional or national economy.
Has the use of the species been recorded as resulting in changes to human health in this record?
Unknown/not recorded
Has the species in use been noted as being of particular disease risk to humans?
Unknown/not recorded
Has the use of the species resulted in changes to animal welfare in this record?
Unknown/not recorded
Are there particular practices which have increased the risk to human or animal health or welfare in the use of this species?
Unknown/not recorded
Does the use of this species increase susceptibility to pathogen spread?
Unknown/not recorded
Unknown/not recorded
Strong community governance/institutions/rights for wildlife management
Prescott-Allen, Robert, and Prescott-Allen, Christine (Eds.) (1996). Assessing the Sustainability of Uses of Wild Species - Case Studies and Initial Assessment Procedure. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, UK. pp. iv + 135
Capture of blue-fronted amazons and hunting of vizcachas and tegu lizards in Argentina. John E. Jackson, Enrique H. Bucher and José Maria Chani.
Threats/pressures impacting the species at the scale of this record