Webinar

Butorphanol in the wild: Advancing anaesthetic protocols


Veterinary professionals
Pharmacists

Wildlife Veterinary Medicine

This webinar provides an in-depth exploration of butorphanol in wildlife anaesthesia. It covers opioid pharmacology, including how butorphanol interacts with receptors and its clinical effects across wildlife species. The session reviews its use in chemical immobilisation, including its role in partially reversing opioid-induced respiratory depression in species such as rhinos, and discusses side effects, pharmacokinetics, and benefits. Participants will gain insights into how butorphanol enhances anaesthetic protocols, supporting safer and more effective wildlife management during procedures like capture and translocation.

 English only
  Veterinary professionals (target audience), Pharmacists
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Why should I take this course?

  • Deepen your understanding of butorphanol’s receptor pharmacology and its unique role in wildlife sedation and immobilisation
  • Learn how to optimize drug combinations with butorphanol for various species, from lions to rhinos, using field-proven protocols
  • Explore how butorphanol can partially reverse opioid-induced respiratory compromise and enhance cardiovascular safety during procedures

Course Lessons

Meet your instructor

Prof. Leith Meyer

Prof. Leith Meyer is Director of the Centre for Veterinary Wildlife Research and Professor at the University of Pretoria. He holds a PhD in Physiology (Wits), a BVSc (UP), and a BSc Honours in Wildlife Management (UP). His research focuses on wildlife conservation medicine, pharmacology, physiology, and the veterinary management of wildlife. He has published over 120 research papers, eight book chapters, and contributed to the latest edition of the Handbook for Wildlife Chemical Immobilisation.

His work aims to improve the health and welfare of wildlife by understanding the physiological impacts of veterinary interventions, including capture, translocation, reintroduction, rehabilitation, and anaesthesia. He is particularly interested in temperature regulation, ecophysiology, and the effects of climate change on free-living mammals, with a focus on reducing the side effects of wildlife management procedures.