Wildlife research
General
Guidelines on the Care and Use of Wildlife
Canadian Council on Animal Care - a 65-page document covering issues relating to filed studies, collecting vertebrates, restraint, marking, medical and surgical procedures, transport and housing, euthanasia and human safety.
www.ccac.ca/en/CCAC_Programs/Guidelines_Policies/GDLINES/Wildlife/Wildlife.pdf
Live Animal Capture and Handling Guidelines for Wild Mammals, Birds, Amphibians and Reptiles
http://ilmbwww.gov.bc.ca/risc/pubs/tebiodiv/capt/index.htm
Australian Registry of Wildlife Health
The Registry is a diagnostic and resource centre that improves Australia’s ability to detect and diagnose endemic, emerging and exotic diseases of wildlife. The Registry has recently published the Wildlife Health Investigation Manual which is aimed at improving disease recognition, notification and diagnosis in wildlife.
Copies of the Manual (ISBN 0-646-44833-1) can be purchased from the Registry, PO Box 20, Mosman NSW 2088. The Registry also is developing an interactive website www.ARWH.org to allow access to Registry resources.
Mammals
Guidelines for the Capture, Handling and Care of Mammals
The objective of these guidelines is to identify field methods in mammalogy that meets standards of the American Society of Mammalogists, the oldest scientific organisation devoted to the study of mammals. Download the document.
Birds
Guidelines for the Use of Wild Birds in Research
These Guidelines are formulated with consideration of animal welfare and research needs.
www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET/GuideToUse/index.html
Amphibians and Reptiles
Amphibians
The Council of Europe has released a draft Appendix to the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals Used for Experimental and Other Scientific Purposes relating to species-specific provisions for Amphibians.
This is the fifth publication in this series, previously released drafts relating to dogs, cats, rodents and rabbits and non-human primates. It is a valuable resource which has been prepared by an expert group and sets out the evidence base for the recommended guidelines.
All these documents can be downloaded from the Council of Europe site:
www.coe.int/t/e/legal_affairs/legal_co-operation/biological_safety,_use_of_animals/laboratory_animals/Revision%20of%20Appendix%20A.asp#TopOfPage
Guidelines for the Use of Live Amphibians and Reptiles in Field and Laboratory Research (2004)
This is the second edition of these guidelines developed by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. The contents include discussion of research methods, restraint, handling, anaesthesia, biological sampling, surgical procedures, marking and telemetry, euthanasia, housing and maintenance, and museum specimens.
www.asih.org/files/meetings/2004/hacc-final.pdf
Fish
Guidelines on the Care and Use of Fish
Canadian Council on Animal Care - these guidelines on the care and use of fish in research, teaching and testing cover a wide range of issues including the special requirements for the management, operation and maintenance of facilities and water supply. Quality monitoring, capture and transport of fish, husbandry, health and disease and experimental procedures such as surgery, administration of substances, collection of body fluids and euthanasia are also covered. Copies can be downloaded from the following webiste.
www.ccac.ca/en/CCAC_Programs/Guidelines_Policies/GUIDES/ENGLISH/V2_84/CHI.HTM
Fish Welfare
A briefing paper prepared by the Fisheries Society of the British Isles which includes sections on how fish respond to natural stressors and assessing fish welfare.
www.fsbi.org.uk/docs/brief-welfare-refs.pdf
Guidelines for the Use of Fish in Field Research (2004)
The American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists and the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists have released a new version of their Guidelines for the Use of Fishes in Research (2004). Topics covered include animal welfare considerations, stress and pain, habitat and population considerations, capture techniques, marking and tagging, laboratory procedures. www.fisheries.org/afs/docs/policy_guidelines2004.pdf
The Animal Research Review Panel Guidelines on Wildlife Research outlines specific strategies to achieve the goals of refinement when using these methods. The guidelines can be found at the link under Policies and Guidelines.