Open castration in dromedary camel through two scrotal incisions: A case report

Most of the time, castration is an elective procedure performed to make the camel docile and manage its behavior. There are also instances, where it is performed as a treatment of testicular abnormalities such as orchitis, irreparable traumatic injuries, and tumors. In the current study, a 7-year-old bull dromedary camel was brought to Addis Ababa University College of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture, Feseha Gebre Ab VTH, with a history of recurrent swelling of the left testicle for a month. Based on history and clinical examination, the case was diagnosed as unilateral orchitis and admitted for open castration of both testes. Two percent lidocaine hydrochloride was injected into each testicle to provide a spermatic nerve block, and then, two parallel incisions were made through the scrotal skin on either side of the median raphe. The testicles were pulled out through these incisions, ligated, and transected. The scrotal incisions were left open to heal by themselves. Postoperatively, antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drugs were administered for 3 successive days. Finally, the camel was regularly followed for 1 week and recovers uneventfully.

Non-surgical sterilisation methods may offer a sustainable solution to feral horse (Equus caballus) overpopulation

Feral horses are a significant pest species in many parts of the world, contributing to land erosion, weed dispersal and the loss of native flora and fauna. There is an urgent need to modify feral horse management strategies to achieve public acceptance and long-term population control. One way to achieve this is by using non-surgical methods of sterilisation, which are suitable in the context of this mobile and long-lived species. In this review we consider the benefits of implementing novel mechanisms designed to elicit a state of permanent sterility (including redox cycling to generate oxidative stress in the gonad, random peptide phage display to target non-renewable germ cells and the generation of autoantibodies against proteins essential for conception via covalent modification) compared with that of traditional immunocontraceptive approaches. The need for a better understanding of mare folliculogenesis and conception factors, including maternal recognition of pregnancy, is also reviewed because they hold considerable potential in providing a non-surgical mechanism for sterilisation. In conclusion, the authors contend that non-surgical measures that are single shot and irreversible may provide a sustainable and effective strategy for feral horse control.

Feral camels: a nationally significant pest animal requiring a national management approach

Managing established pest animals is difficult. The complexity increases significantly when the pest animal is found across the remote arid interior of a continent (Australia), the impacts (both positive and negative) are unclear, and there is a diverse array of affected stakeholders. This paper describes how the generation of primary scientific evidence was critical for the development of a national policy approach (the National Feral Camel Action Plan). The combination of evidence and policy led to the development and implementation of the Australian Feral Camel Management Project. This project offered the opportunity to implement a wide range of management interventions across the affected jurisdictions. The strengths of the Australian Feral Camel Management Project included having high-level support, participation by all affected stakeholders in partnerships, strong governance and a clear project management approach, underpinned by clear policy and scientific evidence. We believe that the evidence-based policy approach used in this project can be used as a template for the management of other established pest animals that are considered to be in need of requiring national coordination.

Integrating animal welfare into wild herbivore management: lessons from the Australian Feral Camel Management Project

The Australian Feral Camel Management Project (AFCMP) was initiated in 2009 to manage the growing impacts of feral camels (Camelus dromedarius) in Australia. One of the most important considerations for the project was achieving high standards of animal welfare and demonstrating this to stakeholders and the public. The novelty of feral camels as an invasive species meant that relatively little was known about the animal welfare aspects of the available management techniques. To address this knowledge gap, quantitative animal-based assessment tools were developed to allow independent observers to perform repeatable in situ field auditing of the two main control methods used: aerial (helicopter) shooting and live capture (mustering and transport for slaughter). Although observation protocols allowed most stages of aerial shooting (in situ killing) to be assessed, not all stages of live capture operations could be assessed (namely transport and slaughter at ex situ abattoirs) due to the limitations of the jurisdiction of the Australian Feral Camel Management Project. For assessments that were performed, audit results were made available to project partners to allow procedures to be reviewed and published through peer-reviewed literature to improve transparency. Empirical evidence produced through the audit system was also used to refine humaneness ranking assessments comparing management methods. We present the lessons learnt through the animal welfare approach of the AFCMP to assist future wild herbivore management programs.

A GIS-based decision-making structure for managing the impacts of feral camels in Australia

Feral camels have severe negative impacts on key environmental economic and social/cultural assets across a wide area in Australia and their population is increasing. In this paper we utilised Multicriteria Evaluation (MCE) within a Geographic Information System (GIS) to create a decision tool for their management. Six management methods which are currently used for managing feral camels and their impacts: aerial culling, ground culling, exclusion fencing, and commercial extraction for live export, pet meat, or human consumption, were considered in the development of the tool. The decision tool used GIS-based MCE to determine the suitability of each of the management methods across the range of feral camels in Australia. A range of method-dependent criteria and factors served as inputs to the GIS-based MCE, which produced a suitability map or surface for each of the management methods. The broad-scale nature, Australia wide, of the work resulted in the suitability maps generated being of limited value in identifying fine-scale priority locations for management. The suitability maps did serve to identify broad-scale, cross-jurisdictional management zones where one or more of the management methods may be applicable. Geographic Information System-based MCE was concluded to have the potential to identify the appropriate areas for the application of specific feral camel management methods. Four management zones were then defined within the area of Australia in which feral camels are present.