TY - BOOK
T1 - Scottish Wildcat Action (SWA) Specialist Report - Disease Surveillance
AU - Bacon, Alice
AU - Beckmann, Katie
AU - Anderson, Neil
AU - Alves, B.S.G.
AU - Ogden, Rob
AU - Meredith, Anna
AU - Tomlinson, Alexandra J.
PY - 2023/9
Y1 - 2023/9
N2 - We should consider ‘significant’ diseases of wildcats (Felis silvestris) to be those with the capacity to compromise the sustainability of the wild-living population and its ability to withstand change. Interactions amongst and between domestic cats (Felis catus) and wildcats provide opportunities for infectious disease transmission, and prior to the start of this project there was evidence that wild-living wildcats in Scotland were infected by, and exposed to, a number of infectious agents well-known in domestic cats, which can cause disease and mortality in that species. Infectious disease has negatively impacted some endangered populations of wild felids elsewhere in the world and has the potential to impact the wildcat in Scotland, especially in the face of simultaneous threats such as habitat loss, population fragmentation and food scarcity. Therefore, infectious disease threats to wildcats merit further investigation, as does the extent to which wildcats are exposed to environmental toxins, which is largely unknown.
AB - We should consider ‘significant’ diseases of wildcats (Felis silvestris) to be those with the capacity to compromise the sustainability of the wild-living population and its ability to withstand change. Interactions amongst and between domestic cats (Felis catus) and wildcats provide opportunities for infectious disease transmission, and prior to the start of this project there was evidence that wild-living wildcats in Scotland were infected by, and exposed to, a number of infectious agents well-known in domestic cats, which can cause disease and mortality in that species. Infectious disease has negatively impacted some endangered populations of wild felids elsewhere in the world and has the potential to impact the wildcat in Scotland, especially in the face of simultaneous threats such as habitat loss, population fragmentation and food scarcity. Therefore, infectious disease threats to wildcats merit further investigation, as does the extent to which wildcats are exposed to environmental toxins, which is largely unknown.
KW - Scottish wildcat Felis silvestris
KW - wild-living cat
KW - health
KW - disease surveillance i
KW - nfectious disease
KW - pathogen
KW - feline immunodeficiency virus
KW - anticoagulant rodenticide
M3 - Commissioned report
T3 - NatureScot - Scotland Nature Agency
BT - Scottish Wildcat Action (SWA) Specialist Report - Disease Surveillance
PB - Scottish Wildcat Action (SWA)
ER -