Owston’s civet Chrotogale owstoni: a priority for conservation breeding

Owston’s civet Chrotogale owstoni is categorized as Endangered on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The species is the only member of the genus Chrotogale and is restricted to Vietnam, Lao PDR and southern China. Its restricted distribution, taxonomic status as the sole member of its genus, declining conservation status and the known absence of any effective protection within its range make the Owston’s civet a global priority for carnivore conservation. In April 2019, 57 stakeholders, including civil society organizations, zoos from Europe and the region, representatives of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) and the Vietnamese government, gathered in Hanoi, Vietnam, to identify what priority in situ and ex situ actions are needed to avert the extinction of Owston’s civet. The result was the development of a 10 year conservation strategy for this species, part of which includes establishing a conservation-breeding programme. Conservation-breeding programmes for globally threatened species in South East Asia are on the whole failing because of poor planning, conflicting institutional objectives and lack of resources. This short report summarizes some of the outputs from the conservation-planning workshop, and how zoos and other facilities can support the recovery of Owston’s civet in Indochina.