The AVMA guidelines for euthanasia state that gunshot is a conditionally acceptable method for euthanasia and should be performed by “highly skilled personnel”1. Although successful completion of a locally administered hunter's education class might qualify an individual to receive a hunting license, it does not necessarily provide competency to euthanize an animal with a gunshot to the head at close range with an appropriate firearm, in accordance with the AVMA guidelines. Given that the accuracy requirement of the local hunter's education shooting test is only to hit the target 50% of the time and given that there is no instruction on how to verify the death of a shot animal, the class does not appear to be sufficient training to properly euthanize animals as per the AVMA guidelines. Indeed, unless the gunshot is accurately placed into the brainstem or brain according to species-specific landmarks, gunshot does not qualify as euthanasia, but is instead considered humane killing by the AVMA guidelines1.

We would recommend that those wishing to use gunshot euthanasia in their protocols continue to take the hunter's education class in order to verify firearm safety and awareness and abide by local laws; however, investigators should also receive more targeted training for gunshot euthanasia that is provided by the IACUC or appointed designees and is based on the AVMA Guidelines. A dedicated training session can be administered either by the designee in person or as an online training module. Such training should be made available to each research group that requires such approval, ensuring that they understand the appropriate firearms and target zone required for their protocol. This training would also incorporate methods for verifying animal death following gunshot.

The skill of the shooter is important so that gunshots hit only the correct anatomic location. The weapon and ammunition must also be carefully considered and selected in order to obtain the muzzle energy and penetration that is necessary for the size of the animal. The AVMA guidelines go into great detail and provide a chart describing the muzzle velocities of various weapons and giving recommendations on muzzle velocity for certain sizes of animals. This additional information should be included in the training class. This will allow the investigators to fully consider their choice of weapon for their target species, it will greatly increase the likelihood of a successful euthanasia procedure, and it will emphasize the importance of considering all aspects of gunshot as a method of euthanasia.

In addition, the IACUC may recommend the use of chemical immobilization or live trapping when possible before gunshot euthanasia is administered. The AVMA guidelines for euthanasia state that one of the greatest challenges in euthanizing free-ranging wildlife is the lack of control over the animal1. Thus, species-specific and situation-specific anesthetic agents can be used to immobilize the animal before shooting to ensure greater accuracy in certain circumstances.

Once the training is completed and the protocol is underway, it would then be pertinent to require a post-approval monitoring visit or report to ensure compliance with AVMA guidelines.

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