Wild boar behaviour during live-trap capture in a corral-style trap: implications for animal welfare
Wildlife traps are used in many countries without evaluation of their effect on animal welfare. Trap-capture of wild animals should minimise negative effects on animal welfare, irrespective of whether the animals are trapped for hunting, research, or management purposes. Live-trap capture of wild boar (Sus scrofa) followed by killing inside the trap by gunshot is […]
The welfare of game birds destined for release into the wild: a balance between early life care and preparation for future natural hazards
Globally, over 110 million game birds are reared annually and released for recreational hunting. Game birds differ from other reared livestock because they experience two very distinct environments during their lives. Chicks are first reared in captivity for 6–12 weeks under managed, stable conditions and then released into the wild. A limited set of 13 […]
Effects of hunting group size, snow depth and age on the success of wolves hunting moose
To study factors important to the success of wolves, Canis lupus, hunting moose, Alces alces, we analysed data from more than 4000 km of snow tracking of wolves during 1998-2003 in Scandinavia. We used two methods to estimate hunting success for 17 wolf territories from 185 observations of wolf attacks on moose. On average, hunting success […]
Welfare implications of culling red deer (Cervus Elaphus)
In southwestern England, red deer, Cervus elaphus, are culled by rifle (‘stalking’) or by hunting with hounds (‘hunting’). We compare the welfare costs of the two culling methods. Observations of hunts revealed that likely stressors such as close proximity to humans and hounds, active pursuit, noise, obstruction and physical restraint prior to despatch were very […]
Ecology rather than psychology explains co-occurrence of predation and border patrols in male chimpanzees
The intense arousal and excitement shown by adult male chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, during territorial attacks on other chimpanzees and predation upon monkeys suggest that similar psychological mechanisms may be involved. Specifically, it has been proposed that hunting behaviour in chimpanzees evolved from intraspecies aggression. Over 32 years, chimpanzees at Gombe National Park, Tanzania were significantly […]
A simple quantitative method for assessing animal welfare outcomes in terrestrial wildlife shooting: the European rabbit as a case study
Shooting is widely used to reduce the abundances of terrestrial wildlife populations, but there is concern about the animal welfare outcomes (‘humaneness’) of these programmes. Management agencies require methods for assessing the animal welfare outcomes of terrestrial wildlife shooting programmes. We identified four key issues in previous studies assessing the animal welfare outcomes of shooting […]
Effects of group density, hunting, and temperature on the singing patterns of eastern hoolock gibbons (Hoolock leuconedys) in Gaoligongshan, Southwest China
Improving Animal Welfare in Wildlife Shooting: The Importance of Projectile Energy
In wildlife shooting programs, the energy profile of the projectile or bullet (i.e., kinetic energy transferred to the animal), as distinct from caliber (projectile diameter), is an important factor for animal welfare. We examined the role of projectile energy in determining animal welfare outcomes for a typical European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) sharpshooting program. We compared […]