Shoot all those ruddy ducks?

I remember the stern warning of a research scientist working for the wetland conservation charity the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) who explained that one of the biggest threats to biodiversity was the introduction of non-native species. It was a wet day in Slimbridge, the headquarters of WWT and we were drinking tea, overlooking coral-like hoards of flamingos supping water in the grey murkiness of the afternoon. His words resonated with me, I had been working as a charity recruiter for WWT and many members of the public had asked me about the ruddy duck, a non-native species currently breeding in the UK. You may recall the recent cull in Britain of this duck which cost the government a cool £4.6 million pounds in order to protect the white-headed duck in Spain from inter-breeding (that’s a cost of £740 per dead duck in case you’re interested).

The ruddy duck

The ruddy duck was introduced to the UK by Sir Peter Scott, the founder of WWT from America yet the duck managed to escape and has since, interbred with an endangered duck in Spain producing an ‘impure’ hybrid which some believe could cause the purebred white-headed duck to become extinct. Yet was it right to spend so much money on killing a bird that was doing nothing more than what nature beckoned? Conservationists are divided on such issues and generally fall into two camps. The hard-liners believe that we shouldn’t allow certain species to become extinct through such inter-breeding, and that if we were responsible for causing the problems then we should try and rectify them for the benefit of the species at risk.

The white-headed duck

Others take a more flexible stance. They believe that life is in a constant interplay of flux and change, and that to try and save one species to the detriment of others is manipulation for the benefit of the observer or man. In the case of the ruddy duck and white-headed duck, neither species is aware about notions of purity, and the resulting ‘impure’ hybrid will also not be aware that it is no longer a purebred species. But does that really matter? The mixing of genes between the two species could even help broaden the gene pool and protect the ducks in the long-term from genetic diseases which can often threaten small populations of species.

However, in ecology it must be noted that certain species may have important "functions" which are imperative for the survival of the ecosystem as a whole. For example orang-utans are often referred to as being "gardeners of the forest" because they are a key component in seed dispersal due to their diet, which is rich in fruit. It is not always clear what the relative importance one particular species holds for an ecosystem, and often, their importance is only noticed after their disappearance. It must also be remembered that the white-headed duck has adapted to the ecological niche of the ecosystem it inhabits in Spain, yet whether the ruddy duck or the resultant hybrids are suitable for this environment and whether they can adapt must also be considered.

Some are enraged that the government spent so much on the cull on logical grounds. Since both France and Holland have their own populations of ruddy duck then it seemed pointless to try and eradicate the duck in the UK when the French and Dutch ducks would still be a threat to the Spanish duck. A spokesman from Animal Aid remarked that there wasn’t even conclusive evidence that the ruddy ducks from the UK were even travelling to Spain and Lee Evans from the British Birding Association claimed that the white-headed duck in Spain was recovering because of a ban on shooting them rather than the British cull.

Still, it’s an interesting issue, one that is dividing conservationists. Both the RSPB and WWT supported the cull, but were they right? It’s difficult to say. Although they claimed to be acting in the best interests of the white-headed duck, it could be argued that they were acting in their own interest in order to preserve purebreds rather than hybrids for their viewing pleasure. Evolution has always favoured survival of the fittest, yet since man manipulated the natural environment, notions of survival are becoming warped. Species need help in order to survive because of the problems created by man. Yet this means great responsibility; we now have to decide what we help, and how we decide to do it.