Abstract

The Canadian Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians (CAZWV) was formed in 1989 to help establish a network of interested veterinarians and as a professional resource on issues concerning the health management of captive and free ranging wildlife. To this end the mission statement of the association is: “to promote and contribute to the health management of free ranging and captive wild animals and in so doing enhance the wellbeing of these animals.”

Two major projects have been undertaken by the CAZWV to support the mission statement. Firstly, the association has developed a training course and accompanying manual “The Chemical Immobilization of Wildlife” that is used to train non-veterinary wildlife health professionals in the handling of wildlife in Canada.

Secondly, the association initiated a process to help establish national guidelines for the care and handling of wildlife in Canada. In doing so we sought the assistance of the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC). The CCAC is a non-government agency which has previously published Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals (volumes 1 and 2),^1,2 as well as supporting Codes of Practice for the Care and Handling of Farm Animals, including most recently, a code of practice for the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Farmed Deer (Cervidae).

The CCAC has now taken on the primary responsibility of developing Guidelines of the Use and Handling of Canadian Wildlife with the support of the CAZWV and with funding provided by the Max Bell Foundation. Under the direction of a subcommittee of the CCAC Guidelines Committee, a process has been set in motion to collect information from a broad variety of experts. These experts have experience with various genera of animals, management issues, nutrition, and specific handling and immobilization procedures. The information will be peer reviewed, edited, and collated into a formal publication. It is anticipated that the first draft will be completed by the fall of 1998.

Literature Cited

1.  Olfert, E.D., B.M. Cross, and A.A. McWilliam (eds.). 1993. Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals. Volume 1. Second edition. Canadian Council on Animal Care, Ottawa.

2.  Olfert, E.D., B.M. Cross, and A.A. McWilliam (eds.). 1984. Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals. Volume 2. Canadian Council on Animal Care, Ottawa.