Journal article
Chemical immobilisation and rangeland species: Assessment of a helicopter darting method for Australian cattle
JO Hampton, A Skroblin, TR De Ridder, AL Perry
Rangeland Journal | CSIRO PUBLISHING | Published : 2016
DOI: 10.1071/RJ16079
Abstract
Chemical immobilisation (darting) is increasingly being used for the capture of rangeland animals. The aim of the present study was to assess a newly developed helicopter-based chemical immobilisation method for free-ranging Australian rangeland cattle (Bos taurus and Bos indicus). Eighteen cattle were darted from a helicopter in north-Western Australia in September 2015 using a combination of xylazine and ketamine, partially reversed with yohimbine. Following a recently published framework for assessing helicopter darting methods, we quantified several animal welfare measures designed to quantify the severity and duration of stress imposed by the procedures. The duration of the procedures w..
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Funding Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), Rangelands NRM Co-ordinating Group and CSIRO for facilitating this study. The study was conducted and funded through the 'Cattle Responses to EcoFire as a Management Tool - Demonstrating the Benefits' project, initiated by the AWC and Rangelands NRM and funded by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program. The authors thank Michael Everett (Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia) and Butch Maher (Fitzroy Helicopters) for help with field work. The authors thank Cait and Nigel Westlake (Mount House Station) for access to study animals and support. The authors also thank Kira Andrews and Grey Mackay (Rangelands NRM) and Sarah Legge (previously with AWC), who developed the overarching study. Hugh McGregor, Katherine Tuft, James Smith and Alex James provided various logistical support. For advice relating to cattle darting, the authors thank John Skillington, Michael Elliott, Callum McDonald, Peter Adams, Michael Laurence, Neal Finch and Tony Searle.