Animal Health Law and the European Bison

Present population of the European Bison (wisent) Bison bonasus L. is already about 200 times larger, comparing to its numbers in 1923 when the attempts for restitution of the species were initiated. Over 25% of the world population is maintained in various enclosures, zoos or breeding centers. However, many of those enclosures have an area of several tens of even several hundreds of hectares and animals living there have very limited contact with people. The European bison is included in the Animal Health Law (AHL) (EU 2016/429) in the group “Bovines”. This class refers to both domestic and wild taxa of all large bovidaes. This includes genera: Bison, bos (with subgenera bos, bibos, novibos, poephagus) and Bubalus (with subgenera anoa) and progeny resulting from crossbreeding among those species. According to AHL rules animals are assigned only to two categories: wild and kept. However, the European bison within the EU are in fact divided into three: captive (usually few animals living within small restricted area), semi-free and free ranging (fulfilling the criteria for the wild). This intermediate category (semi-free) refers to animals dwelling in large groups within large enclosures (sometimes several hundreds of hectares) with only limited human interference. In such conditions animals have a possibility to form natural social groups and maintain close to natural interactions with environment. Therefore, semi-free herds are invaluable reservoirs of animals well adapted to natural lifecycle. Hence, individuals originating from such herds more easily adapt to circumstances typical for life in the nature and are more suitable for reintroduction programs, than animals available from typical captive conditions like breeding farms or zoos.

Additionally in some countries, due to limited space for free ranging large mammals or the lack of public acceptance, maintaining the European bison in considerable groups within large enclosures is the only way to sustain a breeding population of this species. Unfortunately, the European bison (wisent) as well as American bison belonging to the same genus bison, become assigned in European Union to the group “cattle” which means that legally both are treated equally with domestic livestock. However, the status of these species in Europe is quite different (Table 1). AHL rules for managing animals in captivity require a number of procedures regarding routine health tests (like for tuberculosis or other infectious diseases) when an animal should be mechanically restricted or immobilized for blood sampling, visible identification means (i.e. ear tags, young individuals should be marked during first 7 days of their life), as well as long quarantine periods obligatory for animals prior to a transport or translocation. Most of those actions include also a need for tranquilisation which is not indifferent for animals’ health. For untamed animals like European bison, frequent handling poses a great stress, often is connected with a direct risk of injuries not to mention quite substantial extra costs, which have to be taken into consideration by breeders and herd owners. Additionally last but not least, treatment of wild, strictly protected species just like the cattle, destroys its image and perception by the public, which may negatively influence social acceptance towards future efforts aimed at restoring the species into natural habitats. Living conditions for European bison in large enclosures, except of a possibility for migrations, are not significantly different from those in natural environment. Moreover, in some cases, such enclosures are situated within home ranges of free ranging populations of this species (Białowieża, Bieszczady Poland, Vanatori Neamt, Tarcu Mtns Romania) and include a part of their natural habitat. Animals in such enclosures do not have any contact with domestic livestock, like it is possible in the case of free ranging populations, so they cannot be a transmitter of any pathogens or infectious diseases. Nevertheless, the rules for their management are much more restrictive than towards the animals living in the same type of habitat but outside the fence.

Table 1:A comparison of European and American bison status in Europe.