Acceptance of candidate baits by domestic dogs for delivery of oral rabies vaccines

Protocols for evaluating oral rabies vaccine baits for domestic dogs were field tested in central Mexico, after which dog-food manufacturers and suppliers to the pet-food industry were advised as to potential ingredients for use in prototype dog baits. Bait-preference trials in which confined dogs were used were then undertaken, followed by field tests of free-ranging farmer-owned dogs in three towns in the Nile River Delta region of Egypt. Both confined and free-ranging dogs showed strong preferences for certain baits or bait coatings (poultry, beef tallow, cheese, egg and a proprietary product). Fish-meal polymer baits, widely used for wildlife species, were less preferred. In Egypt, a commercial dog-food-meal bait coated with beef tallow and dry cheese was consumed at a rate approaching that of a chicken-head bait. The percentage baits that were actually eaten after they had been offered to dogs, ranged from 71-96% for household dogs tested in Mexico, 65-91% for confined dogs (beagles and mixed breeds) tested in the United States, and 32-88% for farmer-owned dogs tested in Egypt.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat X Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format

FIELD EFFICACY EVALUATION OF PELLETED STRYCHNINE BAITS FOR CONTROL OF MOUNTAIN BEAVERS (\u3ci\u3eAplodontia rufa\u3c/i\u3e)

Radio-telemetry evaluation of several concentrations of pelleted strychnine bait in earlier tests indicated moderate to good bait efficacy for control of mountain beavers. Evaluation of operational baiting with 0.0%, 0.15%, 0.50%, and 0.90% strychnine bait pellets was made in 1990 and 1991 on 24 reforestation units in Washington and Oregon. Results of baiting monitored with burrow activity indicators showed there was little difference in reduction of activity among treatments. Chemical assays and pen bioassays showed baits were lethal, but ingestion was often delayed or baits were discarded. Reexamination of test plots 1 year after baiting showed no detectable change in activity among treatments

FIELD EFFICACY EVALUATION OF DIPHACINONE PARAFFIN BAIT BLOCKS AND STRYCHNINE OAT GROATS FOR CONTROL OF FOREST POCKET GOPHERS (\u3ci\u3eThomomys spp.\u3c/i\u3e)

The effectiveness of bait and the effectiveness of operational baiting were both evaluated for controlling forest pocket gophers (Thomomys spp. ) with strychnine oat groat bait and diphacinone paraffin block bait. Radio-telemetry monitoring and recovery of pocket gophers showed that control of individual pocket gophers 1 month after baiting was 72% for strychnine bait and 62% for diphacinone bait. Reduction in pocket gopher activity from operational baiting was based on censusing activity in sample plots. After 1 month the reduction in activity was 61% for strychnine oats and 36% for diphacinone blocks. Bait blocks implanted with radio transmitters were extensively moved and fed on by pocket gophers. Pocket gopher activity was not significantly reduced by either treatment 6 months or 1 year after baiting

Wild dogma II: the role and implications of wild dogma for wild dog management in Australia

The studies of Allen (2011) and Allen et al. (2011) recently examined the methodology underpinning claims that dingoes provide net benefits to biodiversity by suppressing foxes and cats. They found most studies to have design flaws and/or observational methods that preclude valid interpretations from the data, describing most of the current literature as ‘wild dogma’. In this short supplement, we briefly highlight the roles and implications of wild dogma for wild dog management in Australia. We discuss nomenclature, and the influence that unreliable science can have on policy and practice changes related to apex predator management