Practical Wildlife Care

About this book

New edition of this unique handbook, invaluable for all those involved in wildlife care.

From the publisher's announcement:

Wildlife care and rehabilitation is often on a one-to-one basis and involves a lot of time, care and skill. However, for many years, care of injured wildlife was regarded as a low priority and euthanasia was the recommended option. A lot has changed over the past twenty years and now caring for wildlife casualties is part of everyday life in many veterinary practices.

Following on from the major success of the first edition, this second edition provides even more useful information on wildlife care and rehabilitation. As well as covering a whole range of species, with sections on birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, this edition now includes information on many `alien' species appearing in the British countryside such as wallabies, wild boar and exotic reptiles.


In this edition:


Essential guidance on handling, first aid, feeding and releasing, and many other disciplines not featured in veterinary or nursing training;

Full of helpful tips from an expert in wildlife rehabilitation who has unparalleled practical experience;

Expanded chapters on the care of all species - particularly casualty badgers, otters and hedgehogs - and more comprehensive guidance on rearing orphaned mammals and birds;

Lots more colour pictures to aid in management and care techniques and the latest information on zoonotic diseases from around the world.

Contents

Contents Foreword v Preface vii Acknowledgements viii 1 Prime Directives 1 2 First Response 12 3 Fluid Therapy / Part I: Building Blocks 24 4 Fluid Therapy / Part II: Administration 33 5 Wound Management / Part I: The Biology of Wounds 43 6 Wound Management / Part II: The Treatment of Wounds 51 7 Biology and First Aid of Fractures 61 8 Fracture Management 68 9 Avian Wildlife Disease 87 10 Mammalian Wildlife Disease 96 11 Garden Birds 105 12 Pigeons 116 13 Game Birds 14 Corvids 123 15 Water Birds - Ducks 127 16 Water Birds - Swans 133 17 Geese and Other Water Birds 141 18 Birds of Prey 148 19 Seabirds 158 20 Hand-rearing Orphaned Birds 170 21 Small Mammals 178 22 Hedgehogs 184 23 Rabbits and Hares 195 24 Red Fox 202 25 Badgers 26 Other Mustelids 27 Deer 220 28 Bats 232 29 Other Mammal Species 244 30 Rearing Orphaned Wild Mammals 250 31 Reptiles and Amphibians 259 Appendix 1 JNCC Guidelines on Handling Bats 269 Appendix 2 British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) Guidelines for Response to Cetacean Strandings 271 Appendix 3 Birds on Schedule 4 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as of May 1998) 272 Appendix 4 The Law relating to the use and possession of airguns. 274 Appendix 5 Suggested Record Sheet to Accompany Bat Samples to the Central Veterinary Laboratory 276 Appendix 6 Selected Rehabilitation Supplies and Suppliers 277 Appendix 7 Useful Addresses in Wildlife Rehabilitation 278 References and Further Reading 279 Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

Les Stocker MBE, HonAssocRCVS is the Founder of the Wildlife Hospital Trust, St. Tiggywinkles, Europe's first and the World's busiest wildlife teaching hospital. In 1990 he became a Laureate on winning the Rolex Award for Enterprise. In 1991 he was awarded an MBE for his services to wildlife and in 2002 was granted an Honorary Associateship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. He is author of a number of best selling books, papers, articles and writer of television programmes on wildlife rehabilitation and is accepted as one of the Country's leading experts on wildlife care.