Feralization: A threat to conservation of wild reindeer

Abstract

AbstractConservation reintroduction is an increasingly applied tool for population restoration. The choice of source population is important from a conservation genetic perspective, but there is ambiguity in IUCN policies surrounding reintroductions from (semi‐)domestic sources. After the depopulation of an entire wild reindeer population due to detection of chronic wasting disease in Norway, the plan is to re‐establish reindeer after years of fallowing. Establishing wild reindeer has become challenging due to arguments for disease control favoring a semidomestic origin of the reintroduced stock. Selection is strong during domestication, and feralization does not lead to a full reversal towards wild traits. From a conservation perspective, we advocate future guidelines to include a ranking when wild, captive, semidomestic, and domestic stocks are available for reintroductions, in order to avoid feralization whenever possible during reintroductions and rewilding efforts.