Euthanasia of Wildlife

Abstract

Euthanasia is the death that occurs with minimal or no pain. Although the regulation about humane killing of animals is established by the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals in Japan, this is only intended for animals under the control of humans such as pet animals, zoo and aquarium animals, livestock and laboratory animals. The act that specifies the humane killing of wildlife has not been fixed yet. However, in the population control for various damage mitigation, control of invasive alien species, wildlife rescue and research, there are many situations that needs killing of wildlife. In order to not only relieve the mental stress and social pressure experienced in taking lives of animals but achieve the accountability for euthanasia of wildlife, a method that minimizes as much as possible the pain and distress to the animal should be used. It is desired for the future maintenance of the guidelines on euthanasia of wildlife and developing the education and training of experts.