Webinar 20: Butorphanol in the Wild: Advancing Anaesthetic Protocols

In this informative webinar, Dr. Leith Meyer, a veterinary expert with a PhD in Physiology, provides an in-depth exploration of butorphanol’s role in wildlife anaesthesia. With extensive research experience in wildlife conservation medicine, pharmacology, and physiology, Dr. Meyer discusses the pharmacology of opioids, focusing on how butorphanol interacts with opioid receptors and its clinical effects in wildlife species. He covers the various combinations in which butorphanol is used for chemical immobilisation, including its critical application in partially reversing opioid-induced respiratory depression in species like rhinos. Dr. Meyer also addresses the side effects, kinetics, and benefits of using butorphanol in wildlife management, highlighting how its use advances anaesthetic protocols for better animal health and welfare during procedures like capture and translocation.