The Open School of Tropical Animal

Science and Production

   12/27/2024 9:06:00 PM

THE COLLARED PECCARY BOOKLET AND PRODUCERS' MANUAL

The Purpose of this booklet....

This booklet, like the first in this series on the Agouti (Brown-Uddenberg et al 2004), has come about because it was realized that there was need for production models for Neo-tropical Wildlife species. This was required to complement the classroom experience of the UWI course "AL65B Tropical Zoo and Wildlife Production and Management" which has been offered since 1996 by the first author with support from Professor Stanley Temple [University of Wisconsin-Madison] and Dr. Howard Nelson [then his Ph.D. student and now the Scientific Advisor to The Asa Wright Nature Centre in Arima, Trinidad, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago]. This course is a Graduate Elective within the "M.Sc. in Tropical Animal Science and Production" programme of the Department of Food Production [DFP], Faculty of Science and Agriculture, St. Augustine, Trinidad, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago].

Surveys conducted in Trinidad and Tobago suggested that there was interest in rearing the Peccary. In 2000 the database on 115 wildlife farmers in Trinidad revealed this situation. This was again reinforced by the 2004 database of 256 wildlife farmers. However, it should be noted that the National Agricultural Census does not include a category on wildlife farmers. In the classroom it was also realized that students were interested in the Peccary but did not have the type of information needed to develop a predictable production system. Farmers and wildlife lovers have also expressed a need for this type of information. In Trinidad and Tobago the only scientific report seen on the peccary [locally called the Quenk] was that by Amour and Garcia [2001]. However, Sowls (1984, 1997) has produced the most authoritative documents on the Collared Peccary to date. This has therefore provided the foundation upon which we were able to build. It has been complemented by our livestock production research and varied experiences gained from many local wildlife farmers and zookeepers in Trinidad [The Emperor Valley Zoo]. Austria [The Salzburg Zoo], The United States, The United Kingdom, Germany ]The West Berlin Zoo], Brazil and French Guiana [Station Experimentale de Soucomou of INRA and La Chambre Departementale de l'Agriculture de la Guyane]. The most recent publications on the Collared Peccary originated in Brazil by Nogueira Filoh (1998, 1999) [accompanied by a video in Portuguese on the Collared and White Lipped Peccaries]  and Inagaki de Albuquerque et al (2004a, b and c) and in Peru by Rengifo Pinedo and Navarro Torres (2002), Galvez et al (2004), and Mayor Aparicio (2004) in both Peru and Brazil. These publications were instrumental in getting this document to this stage.

We have also recognized that the "Multifunctionality of Agriculture" requires that we not only conduct research adn development work on the domestic species, but also expand the work to include those species with potential for domestication, both in regard to conservation and increased food porduction and food security in Latin America and the Caribbean [the Neo-tropics]. This "Multifunctionality of Agriculture" suggests that Agriculture performs the following functions:

1. producing Public Goods versus Private Goods,

2. producing Primary Products versus Production for Processing,

3. producing Food versus Non food items,

4. generating Material Wealth versus Immaterial Wealth, and

5. producing Commercial Goods versus Non-Commercial Goods (Hervieu, 2002).

Achieving these functions is particularly important within the Neo-tropics where exists more than 25% of the world's mammals, approximately 33% of the world's birds, 19% of the world's reptiles, and 46% of the world's amphibians (Ojasti, 1997). Thus the Neo-tropics is very important from an animal biodiversity standpoint considering that it occupies less than 20% of the world landmass. Overall these wider factors guided La Chambre Departementale d'Agriculture de la Guyane, l'Institute Nationale de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), the Open Tropical Forage-Animal Production Laboratory (OTF-APL) of the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Wildlife programme of "La Unviersidad Estadual do Santa Cruz, Bahia, Brazil" to collaborate in producing this booklet as part of the project:

"Connaisssance de la faune sauvage de la Guyane: possibilites de gestion et de domestication

[Knowledge of the Wildlife of French Guyana and possibilities for its management and domestication]".

This collective initiative has begun with the Peccary, and we now welcome on board the contributions of our other collaborators in Peru, Brazil, CIRAD in France, and the Universtat Autonoma de Barcelona in Spain.

This booklet has been written with the following objectives in mind:

1. to outline the recognized threats to Peccary,

2. to be able to quickly answer some of the simple questions on the Peccary, entitled "Aryann's Questions", which were the questions that a thirteen [13] year old girl [Aryann Garcia] asked about this animal,

3. to provide an up-to-date scientific literature review on the Peccary,

4. to provide a framework for an intensive/ semi-extensive production model for the Peccary,

5. to share with you the reader the visits made to Peccary farming initiatives in Brazil and Peru and

6. to outline processing and utilization of the animal.

The booklet is therefore organized in a manner that we hope all will enjoy.

How could you use this booklet?

This booklet is divided into the following six (6) sections:

1. Description of threats to wildlife and wildlife farming,

2. Aryann's Questions on the Peccary,

3. Scientific Literature Review on the Pecary,

4. A Practical Guide or Manual for Peccary Production,

5. A visit to three Peccary Farms (two in Brazil and one in Peru), and

6. The Conversion of Peccary to Meat and Peccary Cuisine.

Aryann's Questions can be used by primary and secondary school teachers to answer any basic questions asked about the Peccary. Part 3 contains some condensed scientific information on the Peccary adn can be used as a reference on the Peccary. Part 4 contains relevant information on the setting up of an intensive Peccary production unit and is designed to be a practical production manual. The Part 5 describes visits to three peccary rearing locations in Brazil and Peru and could be sued in conjunction with Part 4 for setting up or improving your production system. Finally, Part 6 introduces peccary cuisine. We do hope that you enjoy reading this book as much as we have enjoyed providing the information for you as part of our effort at international and inter-institutional scientific and developmental collaboration.