Anesthesia of Tibetan Yak (Bos grunniens) Using Thiafentanil - Xylazine and Carfentanil - Xylazine

Abstract

The use of 0.025 +/- 0.012 mg/kg (median +/- interquartile range) thiafentanil with 0.15 +/- 0.03 mg/kg xylazine (TX) and 0.011 +/- 0.0015 mg/kg carfentanil with 0.25 +/- 0.093 mg/kg xylazine (CX), with dosages based on estimated bodyweight, was used in the anesthesia of 37 Tibetan yak (Bos grunniens) housed within a drive-through animal park setting. The median time to lateral recumbency was 5 and 7 min for each group, respectively. With the addition of propofol in 8 CX animals and 17 TX animals, the anesthetic plane was suitable for a wide range of procedures. The median time to standing recovery following administration of naltrexone was 4 +/- 3.5 min with TX and 7 +/- 1.5 min with CX. There was one fatality and one case of renarcotization in the TX group. Overall, the dosages used in the study provided a reliable and useful anesthetic induction protocol, with TX animals demonstrating a more rapid induction and recovery with less cardiac depression than CX animals.

Retrospective Comparison of Five Drug Protocols for Immobilization of Captive Sable Antelope (Hippotragus Niger)

“…Thiafentanil is absorbed more quickly than the other potent opioids, resulting in a faster onset of effects. 10,18,22,24 Dose-dependent induction times have occurred in some species; however, minimal variability of thiafentanil doses and estimated animal weights of this study hindered our ability to assess this induction dose dependency. BAM and TX did not have statistical significance between induction ratings, despite a longer induction time with BAM.…”

DARK Classics in Chemical Neuroscience: Carfentanil

“…Its primary use is as a large animal tranquilizer formerly known under the name Wildnil. , The veterinary drug is a schedule II narcotic requiring DEA registration drug class approval to obtain and comes compounded with the opioid antagonist naltrexone. The use of carfentanil to immobilize and anesthetize a variety of large animal species has been well documented; animal case studies include white-tailed deer, Kodiak brown bears, wild gray seals, Tibetan yak, domestic goats, and chimpanzees . It is typically used in combination with some form of the anesthetic xylazine. ,− An appropriate dosage for the sedation of a large animal is approximately 0.03 mg/kg …”

“…The use of carfentanil to immobilize and anesthetize a variety of large animal species has been well documented; animal case studies include white-tailed deer, Kodiak brown bears, wild gray seals, Tibetan yak, domestic goats, and chimpanzees . It is typically used in combination with some form of the anesthetic xylazine. ,− An appropriate dosage for the sedation of a large animal is approximately 0.03 mg/kg …”

The use of thiafentanil oxalate and azaperone for reversible immobilisation of African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) within a nature reserve — Short communication

“…Thiafentanil has been widely used for wildlife immobilisation on different species: nyala (Cooper et al, 2005), Lichtenstein's hartebeest (Citino et al, 2002), mule deer (Wolfe et al, 2004), emu (Cushing and McClean, 2010), Tibetan yak (Cushing et al, 2011), gaur (Napier et al, 2011), axis deer (Smith et al, 2006) and greater rhea (Ter Beest et al, 2012). The thiafentanil-azaperone combination for African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) immobilisation has been mentioned in books (Kreeger et al, 2002;West et al, 2008).…”