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 […]
Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research
General guidelines for use of wild mammal species are updated from the 1998 version approved by the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) and expanded to include additional resources. Included are details on marking, housing, trapping, and collecting mammals. These guidelines cover current professional techniques and regulations involving mammals used in research. Institutional animal care and […]
Evaluation of the tranquilliser trap device (TTD) for improving the humaneness of dingo trapping
Predation of sheep and cattle by the dingo (Canis lupus dingo) is implicated in significant stock losses throughout much of mainland Australia. Leg-hold traps are commonly used for dingo control and ways are sought to improve the humaneness of these devices. We evaluated the performance of the tranquilliser trap device (TTD) attached to Victor Soft-Catch® […]
Body weight change as a measure of stress: a practical test
We report on the efficacy of body weight change as a measure of trapping and handling stress in two species of wild small mammal: bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) and wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus). We tested two hypotheses: (1) that weight change after capture and handling is related to the intensity of the trapping and handling […]
Assessing Acute Effects of Trapping, Handling, and Tagging on the Behavior of Wildlife Using GPS Telemetry: A Case Study of the Common Brushtail Possum
Trapping, handling, and deployment of tracking devices (tagging) are essential aspects of many research and conservation studies of wildlife. However, often these activities place nonhuman animals under considerable physical or psychological distress, which disrupts normal patterns of behavior and may ultimately result in deleterious effects on animal welfare and the validity of research results. Thus, […]
Immediate effects of capture on nest visits of breeding blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus, are substantial
Although capture, handling and marking of birds as well as taking samples from them are ubiquitous and, in most cases, unavoidable procedures in ornithological research, their immediate effects on the individuals remain largely unstudied. Here, we present data over 3 years from a long-term field study on the breeding biology of the blue tit. Parents […]