Guidelines for preserving dead wildlife intended for PME submission

 

Typically, there is no such advice in the UK but the Dutch Wildlife Health Centre gives some guidelines worth bearing in mind. https://dwhc.nl/en/faq/

Quite seriously the UK attitude seems to be "It takes a terrible lot of time and effort so let's be as slow as we can".  Is it any wonder wildlife crimne goes undetected in the UK?

How can I keep a carcass cool?

To perform post-mortem investigation it is crucial that an animal is kept under cool temperatures, but not frozen.

Although the animal is wrapped in two layers of plastic and thus the outside in principle should be clean, it is not advisable to put an animal in the same refrigerator as food.

Animals have insulating fur or feathers, which means that the organs inside do not cool down quickly and the decomposition process (autolysis)** starts quickly.

Please do not pick up a dead animal with bare hands, but use disposable gloves or a plastic bag.

Is it freezing?

Then put the animal wrapped in newspaper in an unheated shed so that the temperature is less than 4 °C, but not freezing.

Is it between 0 and 4 °C outside?

Then the cadaver can be kept outside as long as they are put in the shade.

Is it warmer than 4 °C outside?

Then the animal must be kept as cool as possible (but not in the freezer).

• Has the animal just died and are they still warm?

Cool the animal thoroughly with cold water before double* wrapping them. If an animal is placed in a plastic bag still warm, it can start to swelter and will not cool down quickly enough.

• Is the animal already cold?

Double wrap* the animal and place them as cool as possible, but not in the freezer. A cellar or floor in the shed often feels cold, but is usually too warm.

A number of options for keeping the double-wrapped animal cool until they can be picked up are:

Roll a newspaper around the wrapped animal and place them together with one or more cooling elements in a box with several newspapers (wads). Clean the cooling elements thoroughly before reusing them.

Place the packed animal in a refrigerator where no food is stored.

Place the packed animal in a bucket/tray/wheelbarrow with cold water with ice cubes or cooling elements. Make sure it is in the shade. If the weather is warm, it is advisable to replace the elements or add new ice cubes every few hours. Before transporting, put a dry plastic bag around it and attach the animal’s details to the dry bag. Clean the cooling elements thoroughly before reusing them.

* Double wrapping:

Double wrapping (in two plastic bags, with the outer plastic bag remaining ‘clean’) is important to prevent contamination of the environment during cooling and transport.

Attach the animal’s details (animal species, your name and place of residence) to the (outer) plastic bag. It is best to attach a printed copy of the completed form.

You can read how to pack the carcass in the manual for packing a carcass or watch the video on double packaging small carcasses.

**Autolysis

The internal decomposition process begins shortly after an animal has died. Depending on the size of the animal, its insulating fur and/or layer of fat and the circumstances (lying in the sun, and/or at warm temperatures) the organs can be unsuitable for proper post-mortem investigation within a few hours. An animal can still look perfect on the outside, while the organs are already largely decayed.

Dutch Wildlife Health Centre