Chemical restraint of the animal

Chemical restraint, through the use of veterinary drugs, must be administered by a specialist, such as a veterinary surgeon. The drugs and administering equipment used to carry out chemical restraint, such as needles and syringes, are extremely hazardous. The veterinary surgeon has responsibility for the safety of these items, but personnel and other emergency responders should be made aware of their presence.

Chemical restraint methods may be used to:

• Reduce responsiveness through sedation – sedation reduces the responsiveness of an animal but does not produce unconsciousness; the animal may still react to stimulation
• Totally immobilise through anaesthesia – this may be used if the nature of the incident requires additional control; it can be delivered by injection, blow pipe or dart gun

The effects and timescales of chemical restraint will vary depending on the method, dosage and levels of stimulation experienced by the animal, before and during its rescue. It may be necessary for the chemical restraint to remain effective after rescuing the animal, for example to assist with transporting it to an appropriate destination.

A suitable and safe anaesthesia recovery area will need to be identified, where the animal can remain until it has sufficiently recovered from the effects of the anaesthetic.

Fire and rescue services should consider maintaining or having access to a directory of veterinary surgeons who can carry out chemical restraint of an animal. A directory of veterinary surgeons can be searched on the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons website.