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Copyright of Pratique des Animaux Sauvages & Exotique is the property of Yaboumba and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Pratique des Animaux Sauvages & Exotique is the property of Yaboumba and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

ABSTRACT In wildlife shooting programs, the energy profile of the projectile or bullet (i.e., kinetic energy transferred to the animal), as distinct from caliber (projectile diameter), is an important factor for animal welfare. We examined the role of projectile energy in determining animal welfare outcomes for a typical European rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus) sharpshooting program. We compared 2 projectiles of different energy profiles: low-energy 40-grain .22 long rifle rimfire (.22LR; 198 J) bullets and high-energy 40-grain .222 Remington® centerfire (.222R; 1,433 J) bullets, fired under similar conditions on 3 nights in September 2014, on a livestock grazing property near Broken Hill, New South Wales, southeastern Australia. We used a thermal-imaging camera to collect antemortem data from 500 rabbits that were shot at varying distance. We collected postmortem data via visual inspection from 482 rabbits that were killed. We used these data to compare 3 animal welfare parameters: wounding rate, duration of suffering, and ballistic injuries. We then used regression modeling to measure the effect of projectile type on these welfare parameters while accounting for shooting distance. All animal welfare parameters indicated that .222R projectiles were more humane than .22LR projectiles. When controlling for distance, for rabbits shot with a .22LR compared with a .222R, the odds of nonlethal wounding increased by a factor of 8 and noninstantaneous death increased by a factor of 9. All animal welfare parameters declined with increasing distance for both projectiles. Our results show that projectile energy and shooting distance were critical determinants of animal welfare outcomes in wildlife shooting programs. © 2016 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pratique des Animaux Sauvages & Exotique is the property of Yaboumba and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

ABSTRACT The European wild rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus) has suffered a dramatic reduction in numbers in many parts of the Iberian Peninsula over the past 50 years. The European rabbit is a keystone species of Mediterranean ecosystems and an important game resource. Because of its role as a prey animal, it is important for the preservation of globally threatened Iberian predators. Several techniques have been used to help wild rabbit populations recover. Restocking is one of the most important techniques because of its frequent use throughout the rabbit's Mediterranean range. In the present study, we analyzed the population dynamics and spatial behavior observed between 2004 and 2007 in 6 different wild rabbit restockings with subterranean tube warrens in 3 private estates located in Extremadura (SW Spain). In all the estates, increases in spatial relevance in the rabbit population were observed, with expansions across >150 ha in one of the estates and an average of 69.86 ha 2 years after the last release. After the rabbits were restocked, they were observed continuously in 2 of the estates for 3 years after the initial release. In these high-quality habitat sites, restockings have served as a source area. Restocking with subterranean tube warrens proved to be a suitable method for creating medium-term sustainable populations with medium abundance (10.88 latrines/km 2 yr after the last release). This technique can be broadly applied for managing threatened species dependent on the rabbits in Mediterranean areas and for other threatened fossorial species. © 2014 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]