Wildlife Immobilization Full Course (3 days)
When: 29 November – 1 December, 2024
Where: Sherwood Park Fish and Game Association
Our Wildlife Immobilization Course is currently full, but you can still join our waitlist. By signing up, you’ll be contacted if a spot opens up or if we add a second date. Don’t miss out on this opportunity—secure your place on the waitlist today!
The Canadian Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians (CAZWV) chemical immobilization course is considered the national standard for continuing education training for graduate students, researchers, biologists and other wildlife professionals involved in the chemical immobilization of wildlife. This lecture and lab-based course is designed to familiarize participants with the capture and handling of free‐ranging wildlife with an emphasis on Canadian wildlife and policies.
General topics covered include:
Anatomy and Physiology – Chemical versus Physical Restraint – Pharmacology – Drug Acquisition, Handling and Storage – Drug Calculations – Equipment – Human Safety – Capture Procedures – Identifying and Treating Complications – Humane Euthanasia – Necropsy – Animal Welfare
The lab-based portion will focus on safe needle and syringe techniques, drug preparation, drug delivery systems, dart loading procedures, monitoring equipment and sample collection techniques.
Participants are encouraged to actively engage in the course to discuss their species of interest and techniques. Assessment will be based on a multiple-choice and drug calculations exam delivered at the end of the course. Certificates will be provided for successful course completion.
Meet Your Instructors
Dr. Nigel Caulkett, DVM, MVetSc. Diplomate ACVA
Dr. Caulkett completed his DVM at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in 1989. Soon after graduation he worked on a project in the Northwest Territories, performing semen analysis on wood bison. Nigel spent a year in mixed practice in St Paul, Alberta and returned to WCVM in 1990 to start a residency in veterinary anesthesiology where his MVetSc research focused on xylazine epidural analgesia in cattle. After completion of his residency he remained at WCVM in a clinical position for 1 year. Nigel started on faculty at WCVM in 1994 and received board certification in the same year. Much of his research has focused on the development of safe capture and handling techniques in free ranging wildlife, and the development and evaluation of analgesic techniques in farm animals.
Dr. Owen Slater, BSc., DVM
Dr. Slater has over 20 years of chemical immobilization of wildlife experience primarily in North American, but also in East and Southern Africa. He obtained his degrees from the University of Guelph and after completing a year of mixed animal practice in Lethbridge, Owen received additional wildlife veterinary training during an internship at the Calgary Zoo. He then spent the next 4 years working as a zoo veterinarian in Chicago and Calgary. Since 2012, Owen has focused on free-ranging wildlife and provides wildlife veterinary services to various government agencies and NGOs, as well as teaching at the University of Calgary, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
Register
**The course is restricted to wildlife professionals and researchers, and graduate students only.
Registration includes the 3-day course, plus the course manual.
Thanks to funding from the Alberta Conservation Association, we’re excited to offer three student grants that will cover the full cost of the course. To apply for this opportunity, please click here.
To receive a course discount, become an ACTWS member here for just $20.76 (annually).
Please note that we reserve the right to cancel a course due to low registration or unforeseen
events. If we need to cancel a course, you will receive a full refund.
If you have any questions, please email us at execdirector@actws.ca
