ABSTRACT
Restraint is a procedure involving capture and some degree of handling of animals. It is of several kinds — physical, mechanical, chemical and behavioural — and plays a crucial role in times of emergency, when an animal needs to be treated, or rescued from human habitations. Restraint and immobilisation are extremely specialised activities requiring lots of foresight, training, and planning. At times, things can go very wrong when using devices and potent chemicals. Thus, in this chapter, we explain the different modes of restraint, how they are implemented in the wildlife settings, the precautions that are needed during their implementation, and the management of emergencies — both animal safety, and the safety of humans. We also describe capture myopathy — a non-infectious metabolic disease of animals with significant morbidity and mortality, associated with the pursuit, capture, restraint, and transportation of animals — particularly herbivores — and discuss the boma technique that can be used as an alternative method of restraint to avoid capture myopathy. We also discuss the correct procedures of transporting captive wild animals to minimise harm.
