| Title: | Defining animal welfare standards in hunting: body mass determines thresholds for incapacitation time and flight distance |
| Author(s): | Stokke S; Arnemo JM; Brainerd S; Soderberg A; Kraabol M; Ytrehus B; |
| Address: | "Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, P.O. Box 5685 Torgard, NO-7485, Trondheim, Norway. sigbjorn.stokke@nina.no. Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Campus Evenstad, Postboks 400, 2418, Elverum, Norway. Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-90183, Umea, Sweden. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation, 1300 College Road, Fairbanks, AK, 99701, USA. Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, NO-1432, As, Norway. National Veterinary Institute, SVA, SE-75189, Uppsala, Sweden. County Administrative Board, Box 22067, 104 22, Stockholm, Sweden. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, P.O. Box 5685 Torgard, NO-7485, Trondheim, Norway. Multiconsult Norway AS, Postboks 265 Skoyen, NO-0213, Oslo, Norway" |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-018-32102-0 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2045-2322 (Electronic) 2045-2322 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Shooting is an important tool for managing terrestrial wildlife populations worldwide. To date, however, there has been few quantitative methods available enabling assessment of the animal welfare outcomes of rifle hunting. We apply a variety of factors to model flight distance (distance travelled by an animal after bullet impact) and incapacitation from the moment of bullet impact. These factors include body mass, allometric and isometric scaling, comparative physiology, wound ballistics and linear kinematics. This approach provides for the first time a method for quantifying and grading the quality of shooting processes by examining only body mass and flight distance. Our model is a universally applicable tool for measuring animal welfare outcomes of shooting regimes both within and among species. For management agencies the model should be a practical tool for monitoring and evaluating animal welfare outcomes regarding shooting of mammalian populations" |
| Keywords: | "Animal Culling/*methods Animal Welfare/*statistics & numerical data Animals Animals, Wild Body Mass Index Deer/physiology Escape Reaction/*physiology Firearms/*statistics & numerical data Forensic Ballistics/*statistics & numerical data Foxes/physiology M;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineStokke, Sigbjorn Arnemo, Jon M Brainerd, Scott Soderberg, Arne Kraabol, Morten Ytrehus, Bjornar eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2018/09/15 Sci Rep. 2018 Sep 13; 8(1):13786. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-32102-0" |
