By Dustin Brown, Veterinarian & Owner of Fall River Veterinary Clinic in Hot Springs, SD
Originally published in the June 2023 e-newsletter
Handling bison can sometimes be a tricky thing. For bison ranchers there are not a plethora of options available to manage their herds. Unlike cattle, they are not easily rounded up in order to work one or even a few. You can’t saddle your horse and safely rope one if they get out. You can try herding them to a corral, but sometimes that comes at a significant cost. We all know these can be dangerous animals; however, handling them wrong can be more dangerous to them. For these reasons, sedation is sometimes a rancher’s best option.
A sedated bison. Photo provided by Dustin Brown.
Using sedation does not come without its own risks; however, these calculated risks are better than the alternative in many cases. One of the best and most frequent examples of when sedation is the safest method, would be if there is an injured animal that needs medical attention. If we were to try and round up this one animal, we could injure more animals or even cause so much stress in the wounded/ill one that it dies. When we choose to use sedation, we try to choose the best times and methods for it to be done. Again, if you take the injured animal for an example, we would not want to incapacitate this animal and risk that it would undergo further harm.
A checklist of factors that we can account for, and somewhat control, include: herd dynamics, weather, geography, timing, animal stress levels and the sedation itself. For example, we wouldn’t want to sedate an animal located in the middle of a herd, after they ran ten miles on a 100-degree day, beside a river or cliff with a dose of sedation created for an animal twice its size. Instead, we would carefully change our timing, location, drug protocols and such to make it a better situation for that animal. These are the big factors that we need to consider in order to make sedation a safe and viable option for herd management. For the most part, when we have accounted for these things, the risk of using sedation is minimal.
Other considerations when we choose to use sedation are how the product is being delivered to the animal, and where to get the proper medications. For any serious bison rancher, it is vital to have a herd veterinarian, as these professionals are a necessity to your program. Not only should they be a valuable source of information, but if you need any medications, treatments, or services they are the only person that can fulfill all your needs. With the assistance of your herd veterinarian, you will be able to safely administer sedation to your animals when needed.
Most sedative drugs are going to be in an injectable form; therefore, you need to inject your animals in a chute system or through the use of a dart gun. For reasons previously discussed, the animal will most likely need darted unless they were already in the chute system for regular handling. By utilizing the dart gun properly you cause no undue harm to the animal. In fact, it should be no more painful than a regular injection. You will also help to minimize their stress levels by staying a safe distance from them. These guns are also quiet and should cause no panic to the remaining herd.
If you work with bison, you most likely will need to utilize sedation at some point to manage your herd efficiently and effectively. When you do, keep the key points in mind and work with your herd veterinarian in order to safely use sedation and minimize any risks to people and animals alike.