Report of the WOAH Working Group on Wildlife – April 2024

The Working Group on Wildlife met from 15 to 18 April 2024 to review key outcomes of the wildlife health programme, to provide technical guidance on selected topics, and to guide on future strategy and programming.

The Working Group remarked on the high number of WOAH partnerships related to wildlife health and recommended that WOAH focus on top priority partnerships which best supported outputs and activities identified in the WOAH Wildlife Health Framework. The Working Group was informed about continuing outcomes from partnerships with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC).

The Working Group once again stressed their appreciation for the business plan for the development of a new information system for wildlife diseases in WOAH and recommended its implementation. The Working Group suggested that WOAH investigate the possibility of developing the data collection system in partnership with an international organisation that specialised in informatics and data management.

The Working Group continued to collaborate with the Terrestrial Animal Health Code Commission, and developed a generic framework for evaluating the potential impact of wildlife diseases on trade and the economy and tested it using six diseases recommended by WOAH.

The Working Group was informed that the WOAH Guidelines for Addressing Disease Risks in Wildlife Trade had been finalised and would be disseminated through WOAH’s networks.

The recent worldwide situation report on high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) was presented and discussed. The Working Group noted its contribution to technical communications material which aimed to alert, inform and support countries in facing the current situation.  The Working Group pointed to delays in publishing some of this material and emphasised the importance of disseminating material related to a major health event in wildlife to Members in a timely manner.

The Working Group contributed to the WOAH Foresight exercise by providing inputs on topics of relevance

The Working Group reviewed shortlist of applications for 3 new positions on the Working Group (replacing 2 members who had left and to fill a new position on aquatic animal wildlife). The Working Group made suggestions to the WOAH Director General for the final selection.

Finally, a document on good practices in wildlife health communication was reviewed by the Working Group.