Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T18:06:57.488Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Improving animal welfare standards while reducing disease exposure risk during euthanasia of trapped brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2023

C Rouco ,
KS Richardson  and
DM Tompkins
C Rouco*
Affiliation:
Landcare Research, Private Bag 1930, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
KS Richardson
Affiliation:
Landcare Research, Private Bag 1930, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand EpiLab, Hopkirk Research Institute, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
DM Tompkins
Affiliation:
Landcare Research, Private Bag 1930, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: [email protected]; [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

In New Zealand there is a long history of research studies working with wild free-living brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) where euthanasia of large numbers of animals is frequently required. The most commonly used method for euthanising trapped possums is by blunt-force trauma. If possums being euthanised are potentially infected with bovine tuberculosis (TB), however, the blunt-force trauma method is associated with risks of researcher exposure to TB infection (eg risk of being scratched, bitten or blood-splattered). Here, we trial the use of a close-range shot to the head with a high-velocity air rifle as an alternative method for the euthanasia of cage-trapped possums. Our trial revealed that the air rifle method reduced the potential disease exposure risks to researchers by minimising blood-spatter area, and by completely avoiding the likelihood of both accidents due to animal handling and animal escapes. While both methods induced immediate unconsciousness leading to death, the air rifle method was quicker (ie shorter conscious handling and total time) and arguably had better animal welfare performance by significantly reducing the time to unconsciousness. Thus, we conclude that the air rifle method is suitably humane for possum euthanasia and should be considered when dealing with potentially TB-infected cage-trapped possums.

Keywords

air rifleanimal welfareblunt-force traumashootingtuberculosiswildlife capture
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , August 2015 , pp. 235 - 239
Copyright
© 2015 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

References

AVMA 2013 Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals: 2013 Edition. American Veterinary Medical Association: Illinois, USA. www.avma.org/KB/Policies/Documents/euthanasia.pdfGoogle Scholar
Cooke, MM, Gear, AJ, Naidoo, A and Collins, DM 2002 Accidental Mycobacterium bovis infection in a veterinarian. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 50: 36–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00480169.2002.36248CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooke, MM, Jackson, R, Coleman, JD and Alley, MR 1995 Naturally occurring tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis in brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) II. Pathology. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 43: 315–321. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00480169./1995.35912CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cowan, PE 2001 Advances in New Zealand mammalogy 1990–2000: Brushtail possum. Journal of The Royal Society of New Zealand 31: 15–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03014223.2001.9517636CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cowan, PE, Heath, DD and Stankiewicz, M 2002 Local variation in endoparasite infection of brushtail possums, Trichosurus vulpecula, along a forest margin transect, lower North Island, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 29: 171–176. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03014223.2002.9518300CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cowan, PE, Ralston, MJ, Heath, DD and Grant, WN 2006 Infection of naïve, free-living brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpec-ula) with the nematode parasite Parastrongyloides trichosuri and its subsequent spread. International Journal for Parasitology 36: 287–293. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2005.11.004CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Efford, MG 2000 Possum density, population structure, and dynamics. In: Montague, TL (ed) The Brushtail Possum: Biology, Impact and Management of an Introduced Marsupial pp 47–61. Manaaki Whenua Press: Lincoln, New ZealandGoogle Scholar
Erasmus, MA, Lawlis, P, Duncan, IJ and Windowski, TM 2010 Using time to insensibility and estimated time of death to evaluate a non-penetrating captive bolt, cervical dislocation, and blunt trauma for on-farm killing of turkeys. Poultry Science 89:1345–1354. http://dx.doi.org/10.3382/ps.2009-00445CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finnie, JW, Blumbergs, PC, Manavis, J, Summersides, GE and Davies, RA 2000 Evaluation of brain damage resulting from penetrating and non-penetrating captive bolt stunning using lambs. Australian Veterinary Journal 78: 775–778. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-0813.2000.tb10451.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Glen, AS, Byrom, A, Pech, PR, Cruz, J, Schwab, A, Sweetapple, PJ, Yockney, I, Nugent, G, Coleman, M and Whitford, J 2012 Ecology of brushtail possums in a New Zealand dryland ecosystem. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 36: 29–37Google Scholar
Goldstein, EJ and Abrahamian, FM 2015 Animal bites and zoonoses: from A to Z: alligators to zebras. In: Sing, A (ed) Zoonoses-Infections Affecting Humans and Animals pp 659–679. Springer: The Netherlands. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9457-2_26CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gormley, AM, Holland, EP, Pech, RP, Thomson, C and Reddiex, B 2012 Impacts of an invasive herbivore on indigenous forests. Journal of Applied Ecology 49: 1296–1305. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2012.02219.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iossa, G, Soulsbury, CD and Harris, S 2007 Mammal trapping: a review of animal welfare standards of killing and restraining traps. Animal Welfare 16: 335–352Google Scholar
Littin, KE, Mellor, DJ, Warburton, B and Eason, CT 2004 Animal welfare and ethical issues relevant to the humane control of vertebrate pests. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 52: 1–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00480169.2004.36384CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Longair, J, Finley, GG, Laniel, M, MacKay, C, Mould, K, Olfert, ED, Rowsell, H and Preston, A 1991 Guidelines for euthanasia of domestic animals by firearms. Canadian Journal of Veterinary 32: 724–726Google ScholarPubMed
McLeod, SR and Sharp, TM 2014 Improving the humaneness of commercial kangaroo harvesting. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation: Barton, AustraliaGoogle Scholar
Montague, T and Warburton, B 2000 Non-toxic techniques for possum control. In: Montague, TL (ed) The Brushtail Possum: Biology, Impact and Management of an Introduced Marsupial pp 164–174. Manaaki Whenua Press: Lincoln, New ZealandGoogle Scholar
National Possum Control Agencies 2009 Leghold traps. A guideline for capturing possums, ferrets and feral cats using leghold traps. NPCA: Wellington, New Zealand. http://www.npca.org.nz/images/stories/NPCA/PDF/a4.1%20leg-trap%202009-05.pdfGoogle Scholar
Nugent, G, Buddle, BM and Knowles, G 2015 Epidemiology and control of Mycobacterium bovis infection in brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), the primary wildlife host of bovine tuber-culosis in New Zealand. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 3: 1–14Google Scholar
R Core Team 2013 R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing: Vienna, Austria. http://www.R-project.org/Google Scholar
Sweetapple, PJ, Ruscoe, WA and Nugent, G 2013 Dietary changes in response to population reduction in the possum Trichosurus vulpecula in New Zealand. Wildlife Research. 40: 561–569. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WR13118CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tompkins, DM, Ramsey, DSL, Cross, ML, Aldwell, FE, Lisle, GW and Buddle, BM 2009 Oral vaccination reduces the incidence of tuber-culosis in free-living brushtail possums. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B276: 2987-2995. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.0414CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Twomey, DF, Higgins, RJ, Worth, DR, Okker, M, Gover, K, Nabb, EJ and Speirs, G 2010 Cutaneous TB caused by Mycobacterium bovis in a veterinary surgeon following exposure to a tuberculous alpaca (Vicugna pacos). Veterinary Record 166: 175–177. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/vr.b4780CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warburton, B, Gregory, NG and Bunce, M 1999 Stress response of Australian brushtail possums captured in foothold and cage traps. In: Proulx, G (ed) Mammal Trapping pp 53–66. Alpha Wildlife Research & Management Ltd: Alberta, CanadaGoogle Scholar
Whitford, J, Rouco, C, Tompkins, D and Nugent, G 2014 First direct estimate of the detection probability of bovine tuberculosis in possums by possum-transmission. European Journal of Wildlife Research 60: 827–830. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10344-014-0834-zCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whiting, T, Steele, GS, Wamnes, S and Green, C 2011 Evaluation of methods of rapid mass killing of segregated early weaned piglets. Canadian Veterinary Journal 52: 753–758Google ScholarPubMed