Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the use of wild mammals in research

TLDR

The American Society of Mammalogists updated its 2007 guidelines for wild mammal use, drawing on expertise from veterinarians and IACUCs to provide comprehensive biological context. The purpose of the update is to provide researchers, educators, and regulatory bodies with comprehensive, current guidelines for the ethical use of wild mammals in research and teaching. The guidelines incorporate additional resources, summaries of procedures, and reporting requirements to extend beyond earlier publications. The guidelines detail marking, housing, trapping, and collection procedures and are available online at the ASM Animal Care and Use Committee website.

Abstract

Guidelines for use of wild mammal species are updated from the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) 2007 publication. These revised guidelines cover current professional techniques and regulations involving mammals used in research and teaching. They incorporate additional resources, summaries of procedures, and reporting requirements not contained in earlier publications. Included are details on marking, housing, trapping, and collecting mammals. It is recommended that institutional animal care and use committees (IACUCs), regulatory agencies, and investigators use these guidelines as a resource for protocols involving wild mammals. These guidelines were prepared and approved by the ASM, working with experienced professional veterinarians and IACUCs, whose collective expertise provides a broad and comprehensive understanding of the biology of nondomesticated mammals in their natural environments. The most current version of these guidelines and any subsequent modifications are available at the ASM Animal Care and Use Committee page of the ASM Web site (http://mammalsociety.org/committees/index.asp).