Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Guidelines for proper care and use of wildlife in field research

January 1, 1999

Public attitudes towards animals continue to change over time. These changes apply to wildlife along with other species, and in recent years, attitudes have been increasingly oriented toward assuring that all species receive proper care whenever human interactions are involved. Guidance regarding the application of euthanasia is provided in the previous chapter. This chapter provides basic guidelines for the proper use of wildlife in field investigations. We believe this previously published information from The Wildlife Society is sufficiently important to include in this field manual. The Wildlife Society has been kind enough to grant permission for this reproduction. The scope of this chapter extends to all wildlife, and the application of this material extends beyond research to all wildlife investigations. This chapter is reproduced, with the addition of illustrations and minor modifications, as it appeared in Research and Management Techniques for Wildlife and Habitats (Bookhout, 1994), and, thus, it deviates from the format for the rest of Volume I.

Publication Year 1999
Title Guidelines for proper care and use of wildlife in field research
Authors M. Friend, D. E. Toweill, R.L. Borwnell, V. F. Nettles, D.S. Davis, W.J. Foreyt
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype Federal Government Series
Series Title Information and Technology Report
Series Number 1999-0001
Index ID 2001108
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization National Wildlife Health Center