3.13 AFRICAN PRIMATE HANDLING AND ANAESTHESIA S.Unwin, M. Ancrenaz, S.Mahe and W. Boardman Introduction. This section will provide an overview of anaesthesia in African primates including highlighting various chemical restraint regimes and suggesting methods of anaesthesia for specific species. It aims to outline what is anaesthetic best practice, indicate instances and procedures where anaesthesia may not even be necessary, and also to investigate how each anaesthetic regime works. The section is divided into three parts. Part 1 outlines general anaesthetic principles and processes, including a brief section on manual restraint. Part 2 deals with anaesthetic emergency procedures when things go wrong. Part 3, discusses anaesthetic drug properties and provides anaesthetic suggestions by species. Chemical immobilisation of wild primates is a difficult, risky and hazardous procedure. Besides the risks related directly to the capture itself, several authors have stressed the problem of behavioural disruption of a group following an anaesthetic event, resulting for example in a change in the social status of the darted individual (Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes; S. Unwin personal observations). This can also manifest as an altered response to the human observer (Karesh et al., 1998). . Procedures for darting small arboreal primates are described by Glander et al. (1991), Jones & Bush (1988) and Karesh et al. (1998); guidelines for chemical capture of large terrestrial NHPs can be found in Sapolsky & Share (1998) and Sleeman et al. (2000); practical tips for chemical restraint of mammals as well as a list of the necessary equipment for field anaesthesia may be found in Osofsky & Hirsch (2000) Readers are also directed to the primate anaesthetic chapters in West, Heard and Caulkett (2007) for a thorough overview of primate anaesthesia. Part 1. The anaesthetic process – considerations for the field IS ANAESTHESIA NECESSARY? Anaesthesia can be physiologically stressful on any animal, and a decision to sedate or anaesthetise an animal must not be taken lightly. However, with the animal immobile, risk of disease transmission (from bites and scratches) is also reduced, and the quality of samples taken will be enhanced. Ethical and welfare considerations must also be taken into account. Consider:  Could the process you are investigating be conducted with the animal unanaesthetised?  Is the animal trainable to provide what is required in a non stressful way, such as presenting an arm for blood sampling?  If manual restraint is to be considered, will the stress induced in the animal be more damaging than an anaesthetic? Have health and safety issues been considered for staff? Is there ease of access to the animal for sample collection? (a big problem if it is struggling inside a net). Is the process repeatable in the future without sedation?