Abstract

The responsible management of captive collections of exotic hoofstock begins with the proper identification and tracking of each animal together with the provision of preventive veterinary care based on the individual animal’s biologic history. Essential and necessary equipment in this effort might include portable capture, sorting, and holding corrals and TAMERS^® (Fauna Research, Inc., Red Hook, NY, USA), restraint devices for individually handling each animal. The TAMER^® restraint device is designed so that each animal can be physically and safely restrained without the use of immobilizing drugs. Due to the variety of hoofstock species, TAMERS^® are adjustable in size, and due to the large number of specimens and expansive areas, often hundreds of hectares, TAMER^® systems are easily transportable. Mobility allows collection managers to bring the equipment to the animals, rather than moving animals to established facilities that could be hundreds of kilometers away. During a 5-day period in February 2006, at the Endangered Wildlife Breeding and Conservation Center (EWBCC) in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, a portable corral system and two mobile TAMERS^® were used to individually handle 263 antelope and wild goats, including: Nubian ibex (Capra ibex nubiana), transcaspian urial (Ovis sp.), impala (Aepyceros melampus), springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis), markhor (Capra falconeri), Cretan goats (Capra aegagrus creticus), and sable antelope (Hippotragus niger).

Acknowledgments

We thank Tim Bouts, DVM, MSc in Wild Animal Health MRCVS, Department of the Presidents Affairs, Head of Veterinary Department, Management of Nature Conservation, Abu Dhabi, UAE.