• Farm animal handling courses
• Wildlife and fish training

All participants will be expected to attain a certain level of proficiency determined by the instructor prior to receiving certification. The certificate of training will itemize the course components and indicate whether the participant is proficient for that particular item or will require a period of supervision. If after a limited supervisory period the trainee is deemed proficient the certificate would be adjusted to reflect the change in status. Certification after taking the course will be subject to the successful completion of a short written test.

The four courses offered by the farm are Dairy Cattle Handling, Swine Handling, Sheep and Goat Handling and Poultry Handling. Each has a basic level with the option of having additional specialized topics added on where the need can be justified. 
 

* * DAIRY CATTLE HANDLING COURSE * * 

Basic course:
- Animal First Aid
- Biosecurity
- Cattle weighing
- Walking an Animal
- Placing an Animal in a tie stall, box stall
- Haltering an animal
- Clipping an animal
- Restraining an adult, heifer, calf
- Visual health inspection

Additional training options (Specialized training in additional areas considered upon request and justification):
- Intramuscular injections
- Administering pills/Bolus
- Taking a blood sample
- Body Condition Scoring
 
 

* SWINE HANDLING COURSE * 

Basic course:
- Animal First Aid
- Biosecurity
- Weighing market pigs
- Weighing nursery pigs
- Weighing mature pigs
- Moving market pigs
- Loading market pigs
- Restraining pigs of different sizes
- Intramuscular injections
- Visual health inspection

Additional training options (Specialized training in additional areas considered upon request and justification)
  
 

* PIGLET TRAINING MODULE *
- Transport an animal in a carrier
- Hold and weigh an animal
- General health exam and inter4action with an animal
- Flush a blood vessel catheter
- Intramuscular injection
- Cage maintenance

 

* SHEEP AND GOAT HANDLING COURSE * 

Basic Course:
- Animal First Aid
- Biosecurity
- Sheep and Goat weighing
- Walking an animal
- Herding animals
- Haltering an animal
- Clipping and sheering an animal
- Restraining animals of all ages
- Visual inspection
- Catching animals

Additional training options (Specialized training in additional areas considered upon request and justification):
- Intramuscular injections
- Administering pills/bolus
- Taking a blood sample
- Fistula sampling
- Urine and fecal sac harness
 
 

* POULTRY HANDLING COURSE * 

Basic training:
- Animal first Aid
- BioSecurity
- Bird Weighing
- Routine Bird Handling
- Visual inspection

Additional training (Specialized training in additional areas considered upon request and justification):
- Blood Samples
 
 

The Publication 1757/E from the Canadian Council on Animal Care shall apply where necessary. 
 

Animal use training and certification procedure at the Department of Natural Resource Science Wildlife and Fisheries Research. 

General description of research and certification requirements:
Wildlife research conducted in the department of Natural Resource Sciences includes the research programs of faculty members for raptor behaviour and ecology, waterfowl behaviour and ecology, fish parasites and ecology and small mammal physiology and ecology. 

This research incorporates a wide breadth of wildlife and fish species, and is conducted on campus (e.g., Macdonald Stewart animal holding facilities, Avian science centre), at nearby parks and field stations (e.g., Morgan arboretum, Mont St Hilaire Gault Estate), and at remote, wilderness study sites (e.g., James Bay reservoir, Kluane Lake, Yukon). As a result of the diversity of research conducted under the wildlife and fisheries umbrella, the certification protocols adopted by the department must be sufficiently malleable to adapt to the unique training requirements presented by different animal research programs. 

Field research in particular presents particular training and certification challenges. For field training and certification programs to be effective, they must occur at the study site and incorporate handling of the animals that are to be studied. Due to the seasonal and remote nature of field research, this training frequently must occur during a brief window of opportunity just before the trainee begins independent animal research. Enough information and training must be provided at this time to ensure proper animal research procedures are followed after constant supervision is no longer possible. To facilitate effective animal use training in this situation, we will adopt a two-step certification process that permits evaluation of a trainee’s knowledge and abilities immediately after receiving training, then again after a brief period of independent animal research. 
 

New-user Training and Certification Protocol
The new-user certification protocol adopted by the department will involve four-stages completed in the following order: 

1) Training 
During the training period, new-users will receive a minimum of 3 days of one on one instruction by Qualified Training Personnel (QTP). Training will include both a thorough review of animal care protocols and repeated opportunities to conduct procedures on live-animals while under the direct supervision of the QTP. 

2) Conditional Certification Examination
Following the training period, the QTP will evaluate the trainee for conditional certification based on their knowledge of protocols and procedures, as well as their ability to effectively complete procedures on live animals. 

3) Independent Animal Use by Conditionally Certified User
If conditional certification is obtained, the trainee will be permitted to conduct independent animal research for a maximum of two weeks before being re-examined for full certification. During this period, the QTP will employ low-level supervision, to encourage the trainee to establish proper animal use procedures when working independently, but retain the ability to monitor the trainee’s performance and offer suggestions for continued improvement. 

4) Full Certification Examination
Before a conditionally certified user is permitted to extend independent animal research beyond two weeks, the QTP will again examine their knowledge of protocols and procedures, as well as their ability to effectively complete procedures on live animals. If knowledge and performance are satisfactory, then the user will be granted full certification. 

Multiple certification levels may be established in situations where not all users conduct all procedures included in a protocol. For example, level 1 training and certification might include basic procedures conducted by all users, while level 2 training and certification might be reserved for a subset of users conducting more advanced procedures. 
 

RAPTOR BEHAVIOUR AND ECOLOGY

   Level I:

• Biosafety

• Requirements are species specific
• Minimum size and shape required for breeding and wintering
• Cage/pen hardware required for each species
• Numbers that may be housed in group situations taking into account aggression, feeding requirements, adequate perching sites, and suitable flight space
• Gender and age considerations for breeding and non breeding birds
• Temperature and photoperiod requirements
• Design and placement of cages to reduce disturbance
• Precautions to avoid accidental escapes

• Protective clothing/equipment required
• Correct method of netting birds and mesh required for individual species
• Procedures for removal from nets to prevent injury to both birds and handlers
• Methods of manual restraint
• How to avoid injury to the animal during handling
• Release techniques following handling/capture
• Temporary holding and transportation requirements depending on species
• Techniques for reducing stress during handling

• Diet is species specific
• Food preparation and proper storage techniques
• Methods of food presentation to prevent aggression
• Vitamin/mineral supplementation if required and methods of delivery
• Frequency of feedings required 
• Food requirements in relation to ambient temperature
• Special considerations in relation to reproduction and rearing of young, either by adults or in the laboratory
• How to determine if amount being fed is adequate
• Daily/seasonal drinking and bathing requirements

   Level II:
   Special Procedures 

• Cage and incubator sanitation and maintenance
• Egg collection, handling, and artificial incubation techniques
• Hatching, brooding and hand rearing of young
• Blood collection (including correct means of restraint), and permissible volume of blood to be collected per species
• Fecal/pellet collection and flotation for parasite screening
• Band (on leg) application and how to determine correct size based on species

   Level I:

• Biosafety
• Live-capture using Tomahawk or Longworth cage-types
• Handling using canvas-handling bags
• Ear tagging using Monel ear tags and tagging pliers

   Level II:
   Level I plus 

• Radio-collaring
• Blood sampling via toenail clipping
• Intraperitoneal injection of stable isotope solutions
• Administration of oral anaesthetics

ECOLOGY OF WATERFOWL, PASSERINE BIRDS AND TURTLES

   Level I:

• Biosafety
• Live-capture of ducks, using nest traps, bait traps
• Live-capture of passerine birds using mist-nets
• Handling and release of captured birds
• Application of leg-bands to adults, bead-collars to ducklings
• Capture and handling of Wood Turtles
• Attachment of radio-transmitters to the carapace of Wood Turtles

   Level II:

• Subcutaneous attachment of radio transmitters to adult Red-breasted Mergansers
• Blood sampling of Red-breasted Mergansers

FISH

All fish users should take the Canadian Aquaculture Institute’s Online course “ The Experimental Fish" to provide theoretical background for fish handling (Cost $98) 

   Course topics:

• Regulation of Experimental Animal Care and Use
• Ethical Issues of Experimental Animal Use
• The Three Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement)
• Fish as a research Animal
• Aquatic Animal Care and Husbandry
• Occupational Health and Safety in Aquatic Animal Facilities

HANDLING FISH IN THE FIELD 
   Level I:

• Live-capture by fish trap or electro fishing apparatus
• Capture of fish by gill net or seine
• Handling and release of captured fish
• Anesthesia for tagging
• Euthanasia of fish 

   Level II:

• Application of tags (visual implant tags) to fish 
• Sampling of blood from live fish

HANDLING FISH IN THE LABORATORY 
Information not yet available, sorry...
 

To register, email at animalcare@mcgill.ca
 
 

  For a printable version of the this section and the rodent and rabbit practical training section: workshop.rtf