My latest podcast discusses the real worth behind wildlife control certifications.
Truth about Wildlife Control Certifications
AVMA 2020 Euthanasia Guidelines
The AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) periodically updates its animal euthanasia guidelines. The latest is the AVMA 2020 Euthanasia Guidelines which now replaces their AVMA 2013 Euthanasia Guidelines. Given the weight that the animal rights protest industry (and even many parts of the wildlife management industry) give to this document, I thought it would be wise to highlight some of the main points and issues this edition raises for wildlife control operators. (I have a training class on euthanasia for wildlife control operators (WCOs). If interested in having me present it to your group, contact me.)
AVMA Definition of Euthanasia
The AVMA understands euthanasia as involving more than just the method used to kill the animal. In their understanding, euthanasia includes why the decision was made to dispatch the animal, how the animal was handled prior to and during the dispatch process and how the carcass was disposed. According to the AVMA, euthanasia must be for the animal’s interest AND done in a manner that is stress free, painless and rapid. The takeaway for WCOs is that we rarely dispatch an animal for it’s benefit. So by AVMA standards, we rarely if ever perform animal euthanasia.
Interestingly, the AVMA does recognize that using a method to kill an animal, even if it caused the animal distress, may be considered euthanasia if the situation made it difficult to use a less painful method. The AVMA understands that some situations, such as free-ranging animals, make laboratory-style implementation of euthanasia methods difficult, if not impossible. Thus even if the technique was not perfectly humane, the AVMA could consider it euthanasia.
Carbon Dioxide Induced Euthanasia
In my reading of the AVMA materials, it appears that the the Panel on Euthanasia continues to have concerns about the humanness of CO2. They point out that while CO2 exposure can suppress pain it also can cause burning in the nostrils (think soda going up your nose) as well as a feeling of air hunger to name two. They noted that how CO2 was administered also played a role in the animal’s reaction. Animals reacted differently when placed in a pre-filled container versus being exposed gradually to increasing concentrations of CO2. Even the rate of exposure could play a role with different volumes effecting different species differently. If you think it’s a bit complicated, you are right. It is.
Thankfully, they have not eliminated the method yet, but they did change the recommendation for use on rodents. They now recommend a chamber volume displacement rate of 30 to 70% per minute where previously the recommendation was 10-30%. As before, WCOs should ensure animals are calm and relaxed prior to placement in the chamber. Animals should be dispatched alone or in family groups. Do not place different species together and certainly not a predator with a prey.
Bottom Line
While I believe that wildlife managers and wildlife control operators have placed too much weight on the recommendations of the AVMA, WCOs who wish to claim that they are “following AVMA recommendations for the application of the euthanasia method” should be aware of these changes. Better yet, they should read the document itself, at least the sections discussing the methods they prefer to use. In the meantime, I hope the wildlife control industry gets moving and creates its own dispatch standards perhaps using those by the American Society of Mammologists.
Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications available at {Stephen’s Academia.edu Page} along with several books {WCC Store}). Listen to his podcast “Living the Wild Life” at {Pest Geek Podcast}. Click the links for past {shows} and {interviews}. Please subscribe to {Stephen’s YouTube Channel} He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to [email protected] Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.
Scientific Review Article
It’s likely that you are not familiar with the term scientific review article, let alone having read one recently. But scientific review articles are incredibly valuable for those who are interested in the topic the review article is discussing. Scientists frequently publish the results of their research. Biologists, scientists also publish the results of their research. The volume of material can be overwhelming. For example, let’s say you wanted to learn everything you could about deer fences. Go to Google Scholar and type in deer fences. I just did and came up with over 56,000 hits. Who has time to read all that? Even if you did, should you spend that much time?
Enter the scientific review article. The scientific review article is essentially the Cliff Notes of scientific research. The researchers perform a wide literature review (meaning they look up all the articles they can on a given subject) and then summarize the findings of that research. Voila, hundreds of pages of technical, sometimes hard to access material, is distilled into a readable and apprehensible form. The article cover page at the right is a scientific review article on deer fences written by some of the leading researchers on deer management in the United States.
Why should you care as a wildlife control operator or a pest control operator that performs wildlife control? You should care because the only way you are going to outpace the competition is if you know something they do not know. The only way you are going to learn something is to discover it yourself, or to learn it from someone else, say a research biologist. I have used deer fences as an example, but there are review documents on all sorts of subjects including animal life history and control methods. These review articles are chock full with great information that is ready to use. Check them out.
Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications available at {Stephen’s Academia.edu Page} along with several books {WCC Store}). Listen to his podcast “Living the Wild Life” at {Pest Geek Podcast}. Click the links for past {shows} and {interviews}. Please subscribe to {Stephen’s YouTube Channel} He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to [email protected] Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.29th Vertebrate Pest Conference
In early March, I was privileged to be in attendance at the 29th Vertebrate Pest Conference in Santa Barbara, California, March 3-5, 2020. This was my fourth or fifth time attending a VPC. The Vertebrate Pest Conference is the oldest and longest continuing running conference on wildlife damage management and wildlife control topics in the United States and possibly the world. It is truly the grand daddy of wildlife control training. It discusses structural vertebrate control as well as agricultural and public health vertebrate control.
The Vertebrate Pest Conference started in the 1960s in response to a perceived need for improved research and transfer of information on managing human-wildlife conflicts. Since that time, the conference occurs every other year, (even years), usually in California but there have been instances where the conference occurred in Nevada and Hawaii. I am told that the next Vertebrate Pest Conference in 2022 will occur in Reno, NV, so start planning.
I not only was an attendee, but I also presented on two topics. The first topic was titled, “M-44 Use Non-USDA Personnel in Montana between 2006-2019.” Montana is one of the few states that licenses private applicators to use M-44s to control coyotes (Canis latrans). I collected the use data and presented on that information as well as discussed implications.
My second topic was titled, “Temperature and Humidity Study in Cage and Box Traps: Implications for Animal Welfare.” This presentation was based on a research trial I did while I was at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Essentially, I placed temperature and humidity loggers in a cage and plasti-catch trap for over a year. A third one was placed between the two traps. The idea was to see what the conditions were in each of the traps. Turns out that the box trap was significantly warmer than the cage trap. Hotter traps can be useful for animals in the winter time, but in the summer can dramatically undermine animal welfare.
Both presentations will be published in the Proceedings of the 29th Vertebrate Pest Conference, which should be out before the end of 2020. I’ll update the publication status in a future blog, or you can visit my Academia.edu page.
Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications available at {Stephen’s Academia.edu Page} along with several books {WCC Store}). Listen to his podcast “Living the Wild Life” at {Pest Geek Podcast}. Click the links for past {shows} and {interviews}. Please subscribe to {Stephen’s YouTube Channel} He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to [email protected] Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.Free Information
Free information. Who doesn’t love the sound of free be it free stuff, free service or free information. Politicians love to use the word free even though everyone should know that the government never does anything for free. But is information ever really free?
Is There Free Information?
I once had an argument with a wildlife control operator (WCO) who claimed that the information I provided is available for free. Therefore, if I understood him correctly, by charging for the information I was in effect ripping people off. I snidely responded to him by saying, and I paraphrase, “Information is free if you have the time to look, have access to the right resources, find the right relevant resources, correctly understand those resources and apply the information to found in those resources, then yes, information is free.”
Need for Context
My point is simply just because you have access to Google does not mean that you have access to the right information or that your internet search has revealed the right information. Lots of information on Google or the net, is simply wrong or more frequently out of balance or context. Google searches frequently don’t provide context for information, not because there is something wrong with the search but because people rarely read enough to understand how the information fits into the bigger picture.
You may have heard the phrase, “A little knowledge is dangerous.” It’s a true statement because when you only have a little information, you often think you know more than you actually do and that arrogance can lead to some very dangerous conclusions.
Consultation Fees
When you pay for a consultation with Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC you are paying for
- Access to information you likely don’t have available
- Ability to synthesize information in an understandable and usable way
- Time to search and acquire information which allows you to spend your time in more profitable activities
Bottom Line
Can you search for information on your own? Certainly. My books and articles are available, many for no additional cost, to those wishing to read them. The internet also has lots of information both good and bad if you want to take the time to surf. But if you have better things to do with your time, then perhaps a consult with Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC is worth the price for you.
Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications available at {Stephen’s Academia.edu Page} along with several books {WCC Store}). Listen to his podcast “Living the Wild Life” at {Pest Geek Podcast}. Click the links for past {shows} and {interviews}. Please subscribe to {Stephen’s YouTube Channel} He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to [email protected] Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.- 1
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