Guest Review by Ned Gentz, MS, DVM, DACZM (Click on stars for an explanation)

You may purchase this book on Amazon.com.

The first edition of this classic text by the indomitable Dr. Fowler was originally published in 1978. An updated and expanded second edition was published in 1995. This new third edition is yet another refinement and improvement. The most striking new feature of this third edition is that the photographs are now all in color, and there are lots of them -- very handy indeed in a how-to text of this type.

The book is divided into three sections. The first section covers general concepts. New chapters in this section for this edition include understanding behavior for restraint purposes, training for restraint purposes, and animal welfare concerns during restraint. The second section covers domestic animals and includes a new chapter for this edition on camelids. The third section covers wild animals. For this edition, mega vertebrates such as giraffe and rhinoceros have been given their own special chapter separate from smaller hoof stock species.

Overall, this new edition is nearly 100 pages longer than the previous edition. The chapter on rope work remains my favorite, as rope work is a disappearing art form. I am also pleased to see the inclusion of a chapter on training. The training of zoo animals for basic medical procedures, thereby obviating the need for anesthesia or sedation, has become very much a priority in the profession since the publication of the previous edition. This book is recommended to anyone who has to either handle or restrain animals of any type. Veterinarians, wildlife biologists, folks involved with wildlife rehabilitation, and even animal rescue personnel should find this text to be extremely useful.

Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Ames, Iowa, USA (2008).

Hardcover, 470 pages.

ISBN: 978-0-8138-1432-2.