By James F. Gesualdi

Recently, there have been several attention-grabbing news stories relating to zoo animals reported missing, being taken (or kidnapped), or harmed, due to accidents involving habitat spaces, feral dogs, and apparent criminal acts. If you are a zoological professional, take a moment and think: what actions, if any, did you take at your facility, based on awareness of these incidents? Here are some ideas for strengthening your animal protection, safety, and security program.

The Academy’s Safe Capture program offers in-person, virtual, and e-learning training for the chemical immobilization and anesthesia of domestic and wildlife species. Learn more about Safe Capture Training and get information on online training and upcoming Safe Capture in-person training events scheduled across the US.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our April and May Safe Capture training events at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. These events drew enthusiastic participants from around the US, including veterinarians, wildlife biologists, students, and other domestic animal and wildlife management specialists. We are so glad you could join us!

Registration is now open for the following Academy Safe Capture in-person events:

Virginia (Fredericksburg): June 13–14: This event is being hosted by Rappahannock Regional Criminal Justice Academy, and is open to all participants.

Louisiana (Alexandria): August 24–25: This event is being hosted by WOL, and is open to all participants.

Tennessee (Nashville): September 23–24: This event is being hosted by the Nashville Zoo, and is open to all participants.

Wisconsin (Stevens Point): October 14–15: This event is being hosted by the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point College of Natural Resources, and is open to all participants.

Texas (Humble): November 8–9: This event is being hosted by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, and is open to all participants.

CE credits approved by the following organizations:

For more information, or to register for these events, please visit
our Safe Capture website.

The National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (NWRA) has a new course with RACE-approved content to provide veterinary practitioners an introduction on how to approach wildlife medicine cases for the purpose of stabilizing an animal and subsequently transferring it to an authorized wildlife rehabilitator.

This course is offered online to licensed veterinary professionals seeking continuing education. In addition, the NWRA offers a hybrid version of this course to veterinary student groups at accredited veterinary schools. You can learn more about both offerings of the NWRA’s Wildlife Medicine Course here. Academy members receive 10% off registration with the code SDZWAA. For more information, contact nwra@nwrawildlife.org.

Have a question about your learning account? Our learning partner, CypherWorx, has a very robust support hub, where you can search for help! Visit the CypherWorx Support Hub.

If you need more specific help, you can also submit a help ticket through the support hub, or call 888-685-4440 to speak with a CypherWorx customer support representative.

For more information about the Academy, please send us an email at SDZWAAcademySales@sdzwa.org.

Individual, group, and institution rates are available. Please contact SDZWAAcademySales@sdzwa.org.

To view archived Academy Newsletters, visit our archive page.

Learn more on our website sdzwaacademy.org.