Conservation of Asiatic wildcat

Project Animal(s) : Asiatic wildcat (Felis lybica ornata)
Project Category : Mammals
Project Region : Across the World, Asia, Europe
Project Type : Conservation
Project URL : http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=102
Project is timebound? : No

The wildcat is included in Appendix II of CITES and is fully protected across most of its range in Asia. Hunting and trade are prohibited in India and Pakistan. In Afghanistan, the Asiatic wildcat was placed on the country’s first Protected Species List in 2009. All hunting and trading of the species is prohibited and it is proposed as a priority species for future research. In Armenia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, hunting and trade is regulated. In Georgia, Iran and Mongolia it is not legally protected. No information is available for Azerbaijan, Iraq and Turkey.

There is an urgent need for more information about the status and distribution of the Asiatic wildcat as little information is available and its population size and status are largely unknown. It is likewise important to identify genetically pure populations and to prevent hybridisation with domestic cats. Also, mapping the distribution of this subspecies using genetic sampling is of high priority.

Project Agency : Cat Specialist Group

Project Agency Contact : http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=1

Additional Information :

http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=13