Conservation Medicine for the Health of Ecosystem Including Human, Domestic Animals, and Wildlife

Abstract

Recently, infectious diseases, such as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), and Non-infectious diseases due to environmental pollutants have threaten not only the health of people and domestic animals but also the health of wildlife and are directly and indirectly related to human activities. In spite of these concerns of wildlife disease outbreaks and potential risks, Japan does not have any governmental infrastructure to address wildlife health. On the other hand, governmental agencies, universities, and other organizations in several countries have collaborative systems among different agencies for management of wildlife health. In this report, first, the context of Conservation Medicine and the current circumstances that surround wildlife health issues in Japan were reviewed. Secondly, wildlife health systems in the US and other countries were discussed. In addition, experiments of Conservation Medicine at the local levels in Japan were introduced. Finally, appropriate wildlife health management systems for Japan considering different backgrounds of each studied country from social, legal, and economic perspectives were proposed.