A. Species
Scientific name: Lemur catta
Common name(s): Ring-tailed lemur
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Endangered
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Madagascar
Country/Region: Madagascar
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: National Level
Name/Details of location: Most L. catta were observed in Toliara (62, 22%), Anakao (49, 17%), and Fort Dauphin (34, 12%). Others were reported in Ambalavao (16, 6%), Antsirabe (3, 1%), Antananarivo (11, 4%), Fianarantsoa (16, 6%).
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2005
End Year: 2016
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Hunting and/or Trapping of live terrestrial and aerial animals
Lethal or non-lethal: Non-Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Keeping/companionship/display
Motivation of use: Income generation from trade (individual/household/community) and Largescale commercial exploitation for trade
Is this use legal or illegal?: Illegal under national law
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study (modelling)
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The study uses model projections, and establishes that only a population of > 500 individuals could remain stable while supporting extraction rates recorded 2011-2016. However, of the seven remaining populations of L. catta with more than 100 individuals, only one is known to contain more than 500 animals, and we present evidence here that infants/juveniles are targeted.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: In-so-far that these captured lemurs are being displayed for profit and given that this off-take of lemurs is unsustainable, then then the economics of this practice are not sustainable.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Lemur populations cannot support current rates of extraction to provide pets / animals for exhibits. If there are insufficient animals to exhibit, livelihood components based on lemur exhibition will ultimately fail. Captive lemurs are often aggressive and bite those people interacting with them. Lemurs suffer poor welfare under this type of exploitative captivity / exhibition. There is high mortality amongst exhibited lemurs.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Captive lemurs are often aggressive and bite those people interacting with them.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Lemurs suffer poor welfare under this type of exploitative captivity / exhibition. There is high mortality amongst exhibited lemurs.
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
The study proposes that conservation actions focused on tourist education, enforcement of Malagasy law, and development of alternative economic livelihoods at the individual and business levels are promising directions for reducing the illegal capture and trafficking of lemurs.
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2019-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2022-12-08