Caracterização do manejo nutricional de criadores de fauna silvestre licenciados pela SEMAS, PA-Brasil

Abstract

At the state level, the State Secretariat for Environment and Sustainability (SEMAS) is responsible for approving the operation of establishments that keep wild fauna in Pará, including commercial breeders, scientific breeders, rehabilitation centers, and zoos. These places face a major challenge, which is to provide adequate nutritional management for wild animals due to the lack of qualified and active professionals in the field, such as animal scientists, and the scarcity of existing literature on the subject. Thus, this study aimed to characterize the nutritional management of wild animals carried out in breeders located in the state of Pará, Brazil. The study was justified by the importance of improving the living conditions of captive wild animals, as inadequate management can lead to health and well-being problems for the animals. To conduct the study, questionnaires were developed targeting those responsible for the nutrition sector in each establishment, and aspects such as the objective of the breeding, the classes maintained, and especially how nutritional management is carried out were investigated. The data obtained from nine establishments were analyzed, and it was evidenced that they are mostly zoos. In addition, among the large groups, reptiles are more commonly kept than birds and mammals, totaling 11,642 captive reptiles. It was concluded that the role of the animal scientist professional is fundamental because he has the competence to develop diets and refine nutritional management, improving the well-being offered to the animals. However, it is still not widely present in the job market.