Grunwald Patrick J, Ruder Mark G, Osborn David A, Muller Lisa I, Goode Kaitlin O, D'Angelo Gino J
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, 180 East Green Street, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.
Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, 589 D.W. Brooks Drive, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.
J Wildl Dis. 2025 Jan 1;61(1):111-121. doi: 10.7589/JWD-D-23-00135.
Butorphanol-azaperone-medetomidine (BAM) is commonly used for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) immobilization in captive and free-ranging populations. It is a federally regulated controlled substance requiring stringent regulatory compliance, complicating field application. A prescription-only drug combination, nalbuphine-medetomidine-azaperone® (NalMed-A) provides a less-regulated alternative for use by wildlife professionals. Efficacy and safety of these drug combinations for immobilization of deer have not been compared in a controlled trial, and reports of dose-specific effects of NalMed-A on white-tailed deer physiology are lacking. Additionally, residual effects of these drugs on deer behavior, food consumption, and stress response have not been reported. In February through April 2021, we immobilized 30 captive female, adult white-tailed deer in three treatment groups (n=10 each). Hand-injected doses were 1.5 mL BAM intramuscularly (IM; 41.0 mg butorphanol, 13.6 mg azaperone, 16.4 mg medetomidine), 1.5 mL NalMed-A IM (60.0 mg nalbuphine, 15.0 mg medetomidine, 15.0 mg azaperone), and 2.0 mL NalMed-A IM (80.0 mg nalbuphine, 20.0 mg medetomidine, 20.0 mg azaperone). We compared quality of immobilizations and reversals and times to induction and reversal among treatments, collected biological samples to measure stress hormones and blood gases, and conducted observations to determine treatment-related variations in behaviors. When an effective dose was administered, both BAM and NalMed-A produced rapid and smooth immobilization and recovery after reversal. All treatments in combination with manual restraint caused some degree of hyperthermia, hypoxemia, hypercarbia, bradycardia, respiratory and metabolic acidosis, and elevated lactate and serum cortisol. At 60 d, all deer were still alive, with no apparent residual effects. Vital signs of deer exposed to manual restraint and these drug combinations should be monitored closely, with supportive therapy provided when needed. We suggest BAM and NalMed-A are safe for immobilizing deer in situations similar to our trials, although doses may perform differently in deer remotely injected without manual restraint.
布托啡诺-氮杂环庚酮-美托咪定（BAM）常用于圈养和自由放养的白尾鹿（弗吉尼亚鹿）的麻醉。它是一种受联邦监管的管制物质，需要严格遵守监管规定，这使得野外应用变得复杂。一种仅凭处方使用的药物组合，纳布啡-美托咪定-氮杂环庚酮（NalMed-A）为野生动物专业人员提供了一种监管较宽松的替代选择。这些药物组合用于麻醉鹿的有效性和安全性尚未在对照试验中进行比较，而且缺乏关于NalMed-A对白尾鹿生理的剂量特异性影响的报告。此外，这些药物对鹿的行为、食物消耗和应激反应的残留影响也未被报道。在2021年2月至4月期间，我们将30只圈养的成年雌性白尾鹿分为三个治疗组（每组n = 10）进行麻醉。肌肉注射的剂量分别为：1.5 mL BAM（肌肉注射；41.0毫克布托啡诺、13.6毫克氮杂环庚酮、16.4毫克美托咪定）、1.5 mL NalMed-A（肌肉注射；60.0毫克纳布啡、15.0毫克美托咪定、15.0毫克氮杂环庚酮）和2.0 mL NalMed-A（肌肉注射；80.0毫克纳布啡、20.0毫克美托咪定、20.0毫克氮杂环庚酮）。我们比较了麻醉和苏醒质量以及各治疗组诱导和苏醒时间，采集生物样本以测量应激激素和血气，并进行观察以确定与治疗相关的行为变化。当给予有效剂量时，BAM和NalMed-A均可产生快速且平稳的麻醉效果，苏醒后恢复良好。所有治疗组结合人工约束均导致一定程度的体温过高、低氧血症、高碳酸血症、心动过缓、呼吸性和代谢性酸中毒以及乳酸和血清皮质醇升高。在60天时，所有鹿均存活，且无明显残留影响。应密切监测接受人工约束和这些药物组合的鹿的生命体征，必要时提供支持性治疗。我们建议，在与我们的试验类似的情况下，BAM和NalMed-A对麻醉鹿是安全的，尽管在无人工约束的远程注射情况下，这些剂量在鹿身上的表现可能有所不同。
