Notes

Dr. Beusse

Disease Prevention

Vaccinate against Erysipelas and Clostridium. Use Diethyl carbamazine to prevent heartworms in the elephant seal. Monitor the environment and culture for pathogens. Isolate sick and new animals. Shipment should be rapid and without stress. Drugs are used in shipment of fish and sharks to decrease stress.

Diagnosis

Observation by trained personnel will reveal clinical signs. Proper restraint is needed for physical examination. Clinical pathology results such as hematology, blood chemistry and urinalysis should be rapidly obtained. Radiology has limited usefulness.

Treatment

Treat according to the diagnosis. The treatment route can be topical, parenteral or oral. Nursing is 95% of medicine. A change of water such as placing a marine mammal in fresh water can give results. Isolation pools should be available where it is easy to handle sick animals. Adequate restraint in the form of a squeeze cage, net or chemical dosage is important.

Beached Animals

Dead animals should be post-mortemed. One should check for the presence of insecticides and other toxic substances.

Education and Research

There is a triangle formed by research personnel, the university and the oceanarium. Elective marine mammal programs are needed, i.e., Cornell has an elective in this area for senior year veterinary students.

Dr. Hall

Normals need to be defined before disease can be understood.

Research is especially needed in areas such as the immune system, histology and physiologic mechanisms. Dr. Hall suggests one should transport the research laboratories to where marine mammals are abundant, available and easy to maintain, such as across international boundaries in the Caribbean.

Dr. Greenwood

In the United Kingdom

• Dr. Ron Roberts does research in salmonid and whitefish culture.

• The Department of Agriculture has a marine fish research laboratory.

• Many veterinarians are interested in zoology.

Fish Publications

• A New Journal of Fish Diseases

• Journal of Fish Biology - produced by Huntington Research Center

• Fish Pathology - Dr. Roberts

Seabird Research

• Holland and the UK are doing research on bird kills related to oil, oil products and to toxins

• Scandinavia - Hg and PCB levels are being monitored.

Marine Mammals

Legislation

• Cetaceans are royal animals and belong to the Crown. The Crown has handed stranded animals over to the Natural History Museum.

• Seals are covered by the Seal Act. Controlled harvest of Gray, Harbor and Mediterranean Monk seals is allowed.

Research 

• Dr. Harris at the University of Cambridge is doing work on seal reproduction, anatomy and on the seal eye. There is a large number of oceanariums in Europe but most have fewer than 15 cetaceans. They dwell only on commercial aspects and do little research.

The Journal of Aquatic Mammals is published by a non-profit foundation.

Dr. Hoey - Aquatic

Animals in Canada

There is a Canadian Association of zoos, parks and aquaria.

Aquaculture

• on the Prairies, mainly in Manitoba.
• there are some small farms on Vancouver Island due to a government funded aquaculture program for the native Indian.

There is a new zoo in Vancouver.

Federal Government research on killer whales has ceased for reasons of austerity.