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CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Rifles and shotguns have similar animal welfare outcomes during aerial culling of non-native fallow deer (Dama dama)
Animal welfare, Vol.34, e63
2025
Abstract
Helicopter-based shooting using either a .308 semi-automatic rifle or a semi-automatic 12-gauge shotgun is widely used to manage non-native ungulate populations in Australasia, but the animal welfare outcomes of these two firearms have not been robustly compared. We conducted a randomised field study to compare the animal welfare outcomes of helicopter-based shooting of fallow deer (Dama dama) using a shotgun with three types of lead-based shot (Winchester® 00 Buck, 1 Buck or 4 Buck) relative to a .308 rifle with 135-grain lead-based bullets in New South Wales, Australia, in 2023. All deer that were shot at (n = 390) were killed. Time-to-event curves for times from pursuit to first shot, first shot to insensibility, and the sum of these two metrics (‘total time’), were similar among the four ammunition types. The mean number of shots fired per deer was similar across all four ammunition types, but the mean number of wound tracts per deer increased across the four ammunition types with the number of projectiles per cartridge. All deer subjected to post mortem examination had 1 wound tract or projectile in the thorax. Our study indicates that using a .308 semi-automatic rifle or a 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun for helicopter-based shooting of non-native deer, when the latter is used at ranges ≤ 30 m, provides similar animal welfare outcomes.
Details
- Title
- Rifles and shotguns have similar animal welfare outcomes during aerial culling of non-native fallow deer (Dama dama)
- Authors/Creators
- David M ForsythAndrew BengsenAndrew Perry - EcotoneLee ParkerMal Leeson - Central Land CouncilJordan Hampton - Murdoch University
- Publication Details
- Animal welfare, Vol.34, e63
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press; CAMBRIDGE
- Number of pages
- 12
- Identifiers
- 991005813499907891
- Copyright
- © The Author(s), 2025
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability; School of Veterinary Medicine
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Citation topics
- 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
- 3.35 Zoology & Animal Ecology
- 3.35.274 Wildlife Ecology
- Web Of Science research areas
- Veterinary Sciences
- Zoology
- ESI research areas
- Plant & Animal Science