From September 1st to 5th, the 2nd International Wild Equid Conference (IWEC) 2019 will be held at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague. The aim of the conference is to connect current scientific knowledge with conservation activities. This event follows the conference which took place seven years ago in Vienna, and will be attended by about 120 scientists and experts from 30 countries, including the plenary speakers Prof. Morris Gosling (Newcastle University, UK) who studies rare mountain zebras, Prof. Wayne Linklater (Victoria University Wellington, New Zealand) who has been studying wild horses and biodiversity conservation in South Africa, and Dr. Patricia Moehlman (Arusha, Tanzania) who is fighting to save the critically endangered wild African donkey. The conference program will also include closed meetings of expert groups and excursions to the Safari Park Dvůr Králové, the Milovice Wild Horse Nature Reserve and the horse breeding station of Przewalski´s horses in Dolní Dobřejov (Prague Zoo).
"Prague was designed for this conference not only because of its convenient location for participants, but also because of its long tradition in research and protection of wild equids in the Czech Republic" says one of the main organizers, Dr. Jan Pluháček from Ostrava Zoo. "It was Prague in 1959 that hosted the first international symposium for the protection of Przewalski´s horse, thanks to which this species was saved from extinction. Now, we would like a similar fate for the critically endangered maneless zebra, which has become the main symbol of the conference and which can also be saved by the population kept in Czech zoos.”
The conference was promoted by equine scientists from the US Geological Survey and members of the International Union for Nature Conservation (IUCN) Equid Specialist Group. "Other main organizers include Prague Zoo, the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague and the Derbianus Conservation" explains Dr. Ceacero Herrador from the CULS Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences in Prague.
Contact:
doc. RNDr. Jan Pluháček, PhD., main organizer
equids2019@derbianus.cz
tel: +420 602 426 691
www.iwec2019.com