The Cat Specialist Group is the world’s foremost body of expertise on the 36 species of the family Felidae and their conservation. Comprised of more than 160 members, from over 50 countries, including scientists who have pioneered field research on such species as the tiger, cheetah, snow leopard and lion. Also part of the network are molecular geneticists, conservationists, wildlife photographers, taxonomists, small population biologists, captive breeders, and wildlife trade monitors. Cat Specialist Group members serve in their personal capacities, but bring with them the experience and the knowledge gained in their professional careers. They volunteer the best of their thinking, and also, in many cases, their time and services, for cat conservation.
The Cat Specialist Group is organized under the umbrella of the Species Survival Commission of IUCN-the World Conservation Union (formerly International Union for the Conservation of Nature). The IUCN is the world’s largest and oldest international conservation organization, and is based in Switzerland.
The Cat Specialist Group has recently completed its first Action Plan, over five years in the compilation. The Cat Action Plan runs to more than 400 pages, and covers the biology and ecology of all the cat species, as well as the major issues relevant to their conservation, including habitat loss and the management of big cats living near people.
The Action Plan lists over 100 priority projects for cat conservation which need to be carried out if the wild cats are to enter the 21st century in good shape. These projects include: Conservation of the last remaining population of Asiatic cheetah in Iran; Conservation of the South China tiger; Biology and ecology of the flat-headed cat; and Status and management of snow leopards in Tibet – to name just a few.
The Cat Specialist Group is organizing these projects and raising the funds necessary for them to be carried out. Kristin Nowell, the Group’s Vice Chairman – Projects, has set up the Cat Action Treasury (CAT), a US-based nonprofit organization, to promote the conservation of wild cats and the implementation of priority field projects. This initiative is in urgent need of your support. For an annual donation of just $50 which is fully tax-deductible, you will receive two issues of the CSG newsletter Cat News, put together by the Group’s Chairman, Peter Jackson. Cat News contains articles and news briefs on a wide range of cat-related topics available nowhere else. You will also receive a bibliography of books and magazine articles about cats written by Cat Specialist Group members which are available through your local book store or library.
For more information about the Cat Specialist Group and its conservation projects, or to send a tax-deductible check or money order donation, contact Kristin Nowell at: CAT, 2520-4 41st St. NW, Washington DC, 20007, USA.
Copies of the Cat Specialist Group’s action plan – Wild Cats: Status Survey
and Conservation Action Plan -are available for US $40, plus shipping and
handling, from the IUCN Publication Services Unit, 219c Huntingdon Road,
Cambridge, CB3 0DL, UK. Tel: +44 1223 277894; Fax: 277175.
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