A modified panel trap and immobilization technique for capturing multiple wild pig

A portable modified steel mesh panel trap was developed to reduce injuries that wild pigs (Sus scrofa) suffer when captured in simple square panel traps. Immobilization was done with a drug combination of Telazol® (zolazepam and tiletamine) and xylazine hydrochloride (HCl) injected with blow darts. Heart rates, respiration rates, and body temperatures were all lower for animals immobilized with Telazol and xylazine HCl compared to relatively few animals that were restrained for immobilization with ketamine HCl and xylazine HCl. An average of 2.5 pigs per trap night were captured, and in 343 captures only 11 animals were injured. There were no capture-related mortalities. The trap was efficient at capturing multiple-animal groups, and there was no difference in the mean size of pig groups captured using a top-hinged gate or a side-hinged squeeze gate.