Restraining Apparatus for Obtaining Blood Samples from White-Tailed Deer

An apparatus is described which adequately restrains white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) for blood sampling. The structure consists of a rectangular wooden frame with foam padded movable sides. With this structure two people can restrain and obtain blood samples from a mature deer with minimum effort and stress. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 38(4):845-847 With the recent attention being directed toward understanding the basic physiology of white-tailed deer it has become desirable to investigate a number of variables found in the blood. A major portion of the effort involved with deer blood studies is the procurement of samples. The use of drugs for restraining deer for blood sampling is currently under investigation at this facility and others (Seal et al. 1972). Chemical restraint, while at times the only adequate method for subduing deer, is a time consuming, often high risk method of blood procurement, and thus not feasible where a large number of deer must be sampled. A number of facilities have obtained blood from manually restrained animals (Youatt et al. 1965, Cowan and Bandy 1967, Johnson et al. 1968, Teeri et al. 1958, and Seal et al. 1972). This procedure involves throwing and holding a deer in a horizontal position and generally requires three to five people for a mature animal. Such restraint is typically very traumatic and often hazardous to the deer as well as the handlers. There is a need for a device enabling the rapid physical restraint of deer with a minimum of stress to the experimental animal. The purpose of this paper is to describe such an apparatus.