The Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) is responsible for overseeing the use of animals in research, teaching and testing. Participation in the CCAC program is mandatory for academic institutions. Failure to adhere to CCAC guidelines and policies may lead to suspension of funding for research programs and/or institutions (CCAC, Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals, vol. 1, 2nd ed., 1993; CIHR, NSERC & SSHRC, Memorandum of Understanding on the Roles and Responsibilities in the Management of Federal Grants and Awards, Schedule 3: Ethical Review of Research Involving Animals, 2000). Although the care and use of wildlife is regulated through provincial, territorial and federal legislation, some agencies responsible for wildlife have adopted animal care guidelines, including those of the CCAC, and have established internal committees that oversee the care and use of wildlife for research, management and operational procedures. Many of these agencies are keenly interested in and/or are participating in the CCAC program in order to provide public accountability for their work.
In addition to the CCAC Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals, vol. 1, 2nd ed. (1993) and vol. 2 (1984) which lay down general principles for the care and use of animals, the CCAC also publishes guidelines on issues of current and emerging concerns (http://www.ccac.ca). The CCAC guidelines on: the care and use of wildlife is the sixth of this series. This document replaces Chapter XXII-Wild Vertebrates in the Field and in the Laboratory, Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals, vol. 2 (CCAC, 1984).
The refinement of animal care and use guidelines is a continuous process. The present document has drawn substantially from the work of the organizations listed in Appendix A. Permission was kindly granted to CCAC to use sections of guidelines developed by their various committees and is gratefully acknowledged. Relevant information not included in the listed guidelines is referenced separately.
The guidelines have been developed by the CCAC subcommittee on wildlife. A preliminary first draft was agreed on by the subcommittee in April 2001 and circulated to all federal and provincial/territorial wildlife directors to seek their early input. The first draft of the guidelines was circulated in August 2001 to 56 experts (including officials of the organizations listed in Appendix A) and a second draft was circulated for widespread comment in January 2002. The development of the guidelines was facilitated by workshops held in Halifax NS, April 2001, in collaboration with the Atlantic Provinces Council on the Sciences, and in Edmonton AB, November 2001, in conjunction with the University of Alberta.
The guidelines have been organized in a format which should facilitate the preparation and review of protocols. For the most part, the sections move through the conception of the study plans, the requirement for permits, and subsequently, the conduct of the various procedures. An attempt has also been made to organize the guidelines in such a fashion that the text moves logically from the least invasive to the most invasive procedures, and through the various stages of capture, restraint, handling, translocation, release, holding, or euthanasia. A section on human safety considerations has also been added as animal care committees are responsible for ensuring that there has been institutional approval for the use of biohazardous, infectious, biological, chemical or radioactive agents (CCAC Policy on: Terms of Reference for Animal Care Committees, 2000) and that institutions are aware of the hazards to which their personnel may be exposed.
