Planning a Game Capture Operation

Transcription

1 Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 1 Module # 2 Component # 1 Introduction Successful capture is dependent on proper planning prior to undertaking an operation. All facets need to be considered, including the terrain, weather, choice of method and equipment, transport, permits and final destination. For successful capture, it is imperative to manage potential problems before they occur. The careful planning of any management operation is critical to its success, both in terms of economical return and reducing stress to the targeted animals. All aspects of the operation need to be considered carefully, such as the procurement of the necessary permits and agreement from both the seller and buyer. The terrain, equipment, personnel and timing are equally important to the success of the operation. Guidelines provided in this Component are based on the Game capture and relocation guide (Van Rooyen, 2003). They have been adapted to provide for other countries within the Subregion.

2 Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 2 Agreement Between Buyer and Seller Any capture operation is a major undertaking. It requires proper planning to avoid unnecessary delays and expenses. The following matters should be agreed upon in writing: The: o o o o Species Numbers sexes and ages of the animals to be captured The purchase or sale price per individual (e.g. whether calves and adults will be sold at the same price) How and when payment will be made for the animals At which point of the capture the risk shifts from owner to buyer or capturer The date of capture

3 Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 3 Permits Permits are required for any capture and transport of animals. Each country has its own set of regulations that must be adhered to. Moreover, in South Africa, each province has its own conservation authority providing for its own regulation and permit requirements. Each nature conservation authority requires that an export/import permit from both the province of origin and the province of destination be obtained from the nature conservation office closest to the point of origin and the destination. These permits, together with the transport permit acquired from the same office, will enable the legal transportation of wild animals from one province to another, given that any relevant regulations are complied with. The transportation of wild animals within a particular province requires only a transport permit. Most nature conservation offices (except those of the Free State in South Africa) allow their local officers or zone officers to issue a transport permit within a particular province. Import/export permits between provinces should be obtained The permit application should be in writing (a faxed copy is normally sufficient) and should specify the following: Name of the farm of origin and the owner s name and telephone number Name and address of the transporter Name and size of the farm of origin and a certificate of adequate enclosure Destination of the animals (name of the farm or reserve and the name and address of the owner or manager) Animal species, number and sex Period for which the permit is valid On presenting the nature conservation permit to the Provincial Veterinary Authority, they will then issue the necessary veterinary permit to move the animals. There are certain restrictions to the movement of cloven-hoof game across veterinary zone lines. This information may be obtained from the Director of Veterinary Services, who will prescribe the steps to be taken to allow the movement to take place. The Provincial Veterinary Officer concerned should be contacted beforehand to determine the correct procedure, as regulations constantly change. In respect to both regional and international import or export permits, in addition to the points already raised, an additional permit will have to be obtained from CITES (Convention for the International Trade of Endangered Species). It is important to note that it is the receiving country that will determine the necessary veterinary requirements. It is therefore advisable that the relevant Director of Veterinary Services of the exporting country should contact his or her counterpart in the country importing the animals to finalise requirements.

4 Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 4 Veterinary movement permits for the translocation of certain animal species also pertain to the matter of diseases. Buffalo: Each country has special veterinary conditions concerning the movement and keeping of Cape buffalo. In South Africa and Zimbabwe, buffalo that are designated disease-free by the Directorate of Veterinary Services in Pretoria and Harare respectively, may only be moved on a special permit to properties specially registered for the keeping of buffalo by these directorates of the national Departments of Agriculture. Diseased buffalo may not be moved from the veterinary control areas specified in the Act. The nearest state veterinary officer should be contacted for more details. Warthogs and bush pigs: Warthogs and bush pigs in South Africa and Zimbabwe may only be moved with a permit issued by the respective Directorate of Veterinary Services. Warthogs and bush pigs in the designated African Swine Fever Control Area may not be moved to disease-free areas. Information on these control areas is obtainable from state veterinarians or the respective directorates responsible for legislation. Other animals: Animals susceptible to disease may only be moved with a permit into, out of, or within a disease-controlled area, as declared in terms of the Animal Diseases Acts of each country.

5 Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 5 General Information The game capturer and the helicopter pilot require certain information regarding the animals and the ranch to facilitate the planning of the capture: a) Is an aerial map of the ranch available, which indicates roads and perimeter and internal fences? b) Which species occur on the ranch? c) Has a game count been done, when and how reliable are the numbers, and which counting technique was used? d) Have any animals been captured before and how successful was the capture? e) What is the size of the ranch? f) Do any veterinary restrictions apply to the area, concerning, for instance, corridor disease, foot-and-mouth disease, bovine tuberculosis, etc.? g) Is there accommodation for the capture team on the ranch? h) What is the condition of the animals? i) Can the animals be kept on natural feed or must feed be provided? j) Are the animals heavily pregnant or do they have unweaned calves or lambs?

6 Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 6 Terrain Inspection The game capturer should inspect the terrain beforehand. The following points are of importance: What does the capture terrain look like, e.g. mountainous, plains, bushveld or open country? How is the ranch fenced and are there internal fences, such as fencing for livestock or a game fence? Are there any obstacles, such as gullies, rocks, ridges, thickets in the the area? Are the access roads on the property in good condition? What capture technique should be employed? If the use method is considered, will it be cost-effective? How far must the animals be chased to the capture site? How many capture bomas will have to be built to capture Is it possible to camouflage the mass plastic boma? With the above information at hand, planning can proceed. The capturer needs to decide or determine the following: The appropriate capture equipment. Suitable transport vehicles and crates. What drugs are needed and whether a veterinarian is required to administer them. How many days will be needed to capture all the animals (allowing for delays such as windy or windless days, breakdown of vehicles or helicopter, weekends and rain). The necessity of keeping the animals in holding pens for a short period (1 4 weeks) or for a longer quarantine period. The status and availability of holding facilities and feed supply. Whether the services of marketing agents should be acquired. Whether the animals should be advertised for sale. Whether the animals should be sold abroad, and the arrangements, permits and cost involved. How payment for the animals will be made. Whether it is necessary to do a game count and on whose account. Whether arrangements should be made to move vehicles over obstacles or difficult terrain, such as rivers, clay soil and thick sand. Whether a bulldozer, a front-end loader, a road-grader and/or tractor should be hired.

7 Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 7 Capture Dates Until recently, very few people have paid attention to capture times that favour the animals as such, and this aspect is often ignored when planning the capture. Possible reasons are that a second or third capture operation would mean extra time and cost to complete the capture; it could also interfere with other duties or commitments. Usually, either the seller or the buyer places pressure on the capturer to meet deadlines, the reason most often being for financial gain, even though the risk of encountering practical problems may be greater. There are times, however, when capture simply has to take place at a certain time due to prevailing drought conditions. The poor planning of capture dates places unnecessary pressure on the helicopter pilot and the game capturer to avoid selecting, herding and capturing heavily pregnant females or females with suckling calves or lambs. This usually results in the animals being herded unnecessarily, captured and released again. It also means added costs and time wasted. Another problem is that captured animals will leave orphaned calves or lambs behind or pregnant animals will abort in the crates or holding pens. Such practices and the resultant stress or mortalities are unnecessary and, indeed, inhumane. When deciding on a capture date, the following matters should betaken into account: a) Time of year: Do not capture animals during their mating period, stage of heavy pregnancy or before calves and lambs have been weaned. These times differ from area to area. b) Temperature: Where possible, avoid capturing and loading animals at ambient temperatures exceeding 25 C. Take particular care when operating at temperatures above this. Impala, for example, are sensitive to higher temperatures during capture. During the coldest time of the year, consider the transport chill factor and protect the pens to the outside by using capture sheeting or shade netting. c) Condition of the animals: Never capture or transport animals that are in poor condition. Also, if the veld condition is poor, remove the animals timeously to prevent losses.

8 Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 8 Buyer of the Animals Prior information When a ranch owner plans to purchase animals for his or her ranch, several factors need to be considered: - Is the species indigenous to the area? - Has the Department of Nature Conservation laid down any restrictions as to their distribution? - Do any of the ranch s neighbours have the same species and how did the animals adapt? - Is the area large enough to minimise competition and maximise diversity of species? - In what condition are the animals and the grazing? (Never move animals from good to poor grazing or from sweet bushveld to sour grassveld.) - Has the mating season been taken into consideration and have the animals been served? - How do the temperatures of the area of origin and the destination compare? (Do not move animals from a warm to a cold area, especially in winter.) - Is the destination area infested with ticks or other parasites? - Will it be necessary to treat the animals before offloading and/or to install parasite control applicators? - Are there predators on the ranch? (Species like blesbok are easy prey.) - Will the animals be transported in suitable crates? - Will it be necessary to tranquillise the animals? - Will it be necessary to supplement the animals natural feed? (Animals in poor condition should be fed.) - Is extra support material needed, such as mesh wire for short distances in the corners of the perimeter fence? (Newly released animals usually patrol the perimeter fence and will often try to break it, especially at the corners.)

9 Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 9 Preparations The following preparations and arrangements have to be made before the animals are delivered and released: Has a permanent offloading ramp been built on the ranch? Is the ramp adjustable to all vehicles? Can heavy vehicles access the ramp? Can the vehicles turn freely and park? Is the ramp built away from fences, gullies, dams, rivers, holes, sandy soil, stones or other obstructions that can injure the animals? Has the ranch perimeter fence been inspected for damage, and have holes in and under the fence been fixed beforehand? Has temporary water been provided along the perimeter fence and in the corners, as the animals will patrol the fences first? Has feed or supplements been put out at water points? Have arrangements been made with a responsible person (the owner, manager or veterinarian) and is such a person available to inspect and receive the animals? Have a route map and contact numbers been given to the capturer and transporter? It is in the interest of the capturer, the buyer and the animals that the exercise be planned well to avoid unnecessary expenses and mortalities. Offloading destination Certain factors contribute to the animals stress, injuries and mortalities at the offloading destination. Situations such as the following need to be avoided: The entrance gate to the ranch having a support wire or beam above the gate less than 4,5 m above the ground, which will prevent heavy vehicles from entering immediately Delay because of a locked entrance gate Nobody present to receive the animals Poor road conditions No offloading ramp, forcing animals to jump from the crate Poor construction of offloading ramp or the angle being too steep Offloading taking place too near a dam of water Difficulty in turning and positioning the vehicle on the ramp and/or insufficient space to manoeuvre heavy trucks into the boma area Vehicles getting stuck in sandy or clay soil in wet conditions Offloading ramp being situated amongst obstacles or near fences Delays because of poor arrangements (While the transport vehicle is stationary, the temperature in the crates can increase dramatically and the animals become restless and aggressive.) Separating the animals and offloading at several points Buyer dissatisfaction (When the buyer is dissatisfied with the consignment, it can result in the transportation truck being returned to the seller unloaded, or the animals being offloaded in holding pens until another buyer is found.) Animals being held in the truck until another buyer is found

10 Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 10 Transport permits and other information The following details are needed from the buyer to obtain a transport permit: a) Name; postal and address; fax, telephone and cell phone numbers b) Name and registration number of the ranch and the district in which it is located c) Size of the ranch It is the duty of the capturer or seller of the animals to inform the buyer of the following: Name of the ranch and district of origin of the animals Immobilising or tranquillising drugs used Location from where the animals were transported (e.g. from holding pens or directly from the capture site)