Not to excuse irresponsible behavior but I'm not sure this is the huge concern you guys are painting this to be. 1) The number of released animals relative to existing populations is insignificant. 2) Recruitment into the adult population is extremely low for even wild born and one would reasonably surmise that it would be even less for released captive-bred animals. 3) Animal populations are in large part a product of their environment. Various genotypes and phenotypes exist in given locals because that is what survives there. The short term impact of an insignificant number of released cb animals that actually interbreeding with the wild population might have is going to be attenuated with each successive generation.

I think the much greater issue is human manipulation of the habitat altering what is selected for. Human induced monocultures are not going to support the level of diversity and evolutionary potential that undisturbed natural habitats would.
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“Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” Emmerson

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