Immobilising free‐ranging Alpine chamois with xylazine, reversed with atipamezole

Abstract

Between 1996 and 2005, 215 free-ranging Alpine chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) were immobilised with xylazine hydrochloride. The 110 male and 105 female animals received a mean (sd) dose of 2.5 (0.6) mg/kg with a range from 1.4 to 4.8 mg/kg. The immobilisation was reversed in 201 of the animals with an intramuscular injection of 0.3 (0.1) mg/kg atipamezole (range 0.03 to 0.76 mg/kg), corresponding to a mean ratio of atipamezole:xylazine of 1:9.4 (4.3). All the chamois were immobilised, but shorter induction and recovery times, and deeper sedation with no reactions to handling were obtained in more than 80 per cent of the animals with doses of 2.6 to 3.6 mg/kg of xylazine, reversed with 0.26 to 0.36 mg/kg atipamezole (a ratio of 1:10), injected within 90 minutes.

Anaesthesia of free-ranging Northern chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) with xylazine/ketamine and reversal with atipamezole

“…Induction time in this study falls in the above range and is similar (7.2±5.1 vs. 7.6±4.4 min) with the average one reported in Northern chamois captured in the same study area using xylazine alone (Dematteis et al 2008).…”

“…In addition, even at low doses, opioids (etorphine, fentanyl and carfentanyl) are potent toxic substances in both animals and humans, and extra care and concentration are required by operators when working with these drugs (Kreeger et al 2002). Finally, xylazine alone and combinations of xylazine plus ketamine have been frequently used in Northern and in Southern chamois, and some data about anaesthetic times and physiological responses were reported (Bauditz 1972;Appolinaire et al 1984;Wiesner and von Hegel 1985;Fico 1988;Gauthier 1993a;Peracino and Bassano 1993;Moran et al 1994;von Hardenberg et al 2000;Bassano et al 2004;Dematteis et al 2008).…”

“…The drugs were analysed for their ability to achieve rapid and deep immobilisation and effective recovery safely. Furthermore, the possibility of administering a standard dosage irrespective of sex and body mass is discussed, since environmental operating conditions in the Alps hinder prompt adaptation of dosage to the characteristics of the individual target (Dematteis et al 2008).…”

“…): ketamine plus medetomidine antagonised with atipamezole (Jalanka and Roeken 1990;Walzer et al 1996Walzer et al , 1998; etorphine plus acepromazine antagonised with diprenorphine (Wiesner et al 1982); xylazine alone (Bauditz 1972;Gauthier 1993a;Peracino and Bassano 1993;Dematteis et al 2008); xylazine plus carfentanyl antagonised with naloxone plus yohimbine (Duchamps 1985); xylazine plus fentanyl antagonised with naloxone plus yohimbine (Jensen 1982); xylazine plus ketamine (Wiesner and von Hegel 1985;Fico 1988;Moran et al 1994;von Hardenberg et al 2000) and tiletamine plus zolazepam (Chaduc et al 1993). However, most of these studies did not evaluate physiological responses to treatment, and the suitability of tested drugs was mainly assessed based on observation, experience and anecdotal evidence.…”

“…The drugs were analysed for their ability to achieve rapid and deep immobilisation and effective recovery safely. Furthermore, the possibility of administering a standard dosage irrespective of sex and body mass is discussed, since environmental operating conditions in the Alps hinder prompt adaptation of dosage to the characteristics of the individual target (Dematteis et al 2008).Xylazine is an alfa-2-adrenergic tranquilizer used to immobilise wildlife both as a sole immobilising agent (Jorgenson et al 1990(Jorgenson et al , 1991Haviernick et al 1998) and in combination with other anaesthetics (Delvaux et al 1999;Kilpatrick and Spohr 1999;Janovsky et al 2000). It has a large safety margin since its lethal level is more than ten times the normal dosage (Delvaux et al 1999).…”