05/01/2026
⚫️Chemical Immobilisation Technology Myths⚫️
The real danger isn’t darting, it’s leaving a vulnerable dog exposed to ongoing risks.
Why Darting is the Right Choice for Vulnerable Dogs
For especially fearful or “trap savvy” dogs, traditional trapping can drag on for weeks or even months, prolonging stress and suffering. Each cautious approach to a trap only heightens fear, making recovery harder for both the dog and their owner.
Darting (Remote Chemical Injection) offers a faster, safer, and more humane solution. By calming the dog immediately, we remove the fear of confined spaces and bring their stress under control from the outset.
At Animal Capture UK, we are the UK’s only qualified specialists in Remote Chemical Injection. With extensive experience recovering dogs that have been lost for months, even years, we provide the expertise and compassion needed to bring vulnerable dogs home safely.
At Animal Capture UK, we’ve safely recovered countless dogs using Remote Chemical Injection (RCI), advanced technology backed by veterinary expertise. RCI has truly saved lives.
Yet myths and misconceptions still cause hesitation, sometimes putting vulnerable dogs at greater risk. There are many dog rescue operators totally opposed to the use of such techniques, and several myths that circulate through the dog rescue world that are serving only to increase scepticism and, in some cases, may even increase the risks for dogs that remain un-captured. That’s why we’ve created this resource: to explain the real value of RCI, when it’s appropriate, and to dispel the 10 biggest myths surrounding this life-saving method.
👉Myth # 1 – you need the specific weight of the dog to dart else it will kill them…
False. A loose dog can’t be weighed, that’s exactly why darting is needed. Trained professionals, supported by vets, are able to assess remotely and safely calculate the correct dosage range. Only qualified experts can make this decision.
Ria – loose for 5 years, safely recovered by darting.
Nero – loose for 4 years, finally brought home through CIT.
Oscar – denied darting under a “no dart” policy, he tragically died attempting to escape a trap.
The real danger isn’t darting, it’s leaving a vulnerable dog exposed to ongoing risks.
👉Myth # 2– Shooting a dog with a dart is cruel and causes injury to the dog
False. To many, the thought of darting a dog runs parallel with the thought of shooting them. There is a fundamental difference between the function, intention and effect of a rifle/shotgun, intended to kill the animal, and that of a dart projector. The dart projector (often referred to as a dart gun) is designed and used for a completely different function – the main one being to deliver a remote sedative injection humanely, safely and accurately.
Dart projectors aren’t weapons.
👉Myth # 3 – The dog can be lost after darting
False. Our dart projectors, telemetry darts, and digital trackers are tested before every operation and can locate a dog up to a mile away. While no system is foolproof and outside events can affect tracking, risk assessments are carried out at every stage to minimise danger.
The more we know about a dog’s history and behaviour, the higher the chance of safe recovery, yet many lost dog teams refuse to share this information once darting is chosen, putting dogs at greater risk.
👉Myth # 4 - The dog must be found in 10/20 minutes or they will die
False. No two live capture operations are identical. Long before a dog is darted, the RCI team gather crucial information on the animal breed, weight, age, s*x and behavioural characteristics and the location. The data is discussed with the supporting Veterinary Surgeon. The appropriate drug type and specific volume is used in each particular case, so in the rare occasions where location and recovery are protracted, the dog will remain stable in sedation long enough to locate.
👉Myth #5 – Sedating is dangerous for the dog
False. All sedation carries a risk, as it does with humans and other animals, but in cases where darting needs to be considered, then by default the animal is already facing significant risks from traffic, livestock farmers, malnutrition and disease. Often the risks of the animal not being caught far outweigh the calculated risk of capture using RCI.
👉Myth # 6– Darting is frightening for the dog
False. Dart impact will naturally come as a surprise to the animal, but the key factor is that prior to impact the dog is naturally wary. By the time the animal is aware that something has happened, the sedative has already been injected and is beginning to work. For dogs that require capture by any method, their greatest fear is people. As the dart is delivered from a concealed position then fear from darting is not really an issue. Dart impact is less frightening for the animal than a malfunctioning trap.
👉Myth # 7 – The use of CIT costs £4k…other teams don’t charge, and help for free.
False. CIT comes at a cost to secure the professional dart projector operator and veterinarian support.
There is yet to be either professional who has come forward to offer their years of training, experience, time and reputation for free. If it were free, one should consider the quality and experience of such volunteers.
The cost is unavoidable but saves lives and ranges depending on the size of the lost dog, location and requirements to carry out the process.
When a dogs time out is prolonged, the running costs of the volunteer team to travel to the area, feed the dog, pay for SIM costs etc all continue to add up and they do not come for free. They are paid for by members of the public, often through fundraising. Spending weeks and months trying to trap a dog can run into hundreds/thousands of pounds and the costs continue to mount with no progress towards a successful conclusion. These running costs are truly wasted, and often more than the cost of CIT. Running costs could be saved to use for another dog for whom trapping is progressing.
👉Myth #8 – Call a vet or zoo
False. We are unaware of any vet/zoo CIT technology provider with the high spec equipment necessary to deploy and recover gps darts. Vets/zoos may have access to dart projectors but none appropriate for unconfined settings and no experience with nervous or difficult lost dogs.
👉Myth #9 - A dog needs to be feeding consistently from one place for CIT to be used
False. CIT is a different process and does not require the dog to be feeding from one spot consistently. Many dogs have been brought back into safety without ever being fed. Details of the dogs behaviour and sighting information is required from which the Animal Capture UK team use to plan for successful dart deployment.
It is often said that all lost dogs settle. However, this is not the case, many dogs do not settle and waiting until such dogs ‘settle’ before referring for CIT only serves to prolong their time out.
Coco the Miortic Shepherd for example escaped in Lincolnshire and travelled over a number of months through to Halifax. She was in search of her ‘flock’, something she was not going to find so would continue to travel through the UK. The team, experienced in such breed of dogs, analysed her sightings and successfully deployed a dart in a location that Coco had never been fed and before she moved out of the area, she was 100 miles from her escape point.
👉Myth # 10 – Darting should be an absolute last resort
False. (To a point) In most circumstances there are a range of tactics and equipment that can be used long before darting needs to be considered. However, there are certain circumstances where darting should be the first option. Such circumstances may include cases where the animal is in danger from traffic, where they may be hit, injured or killed, or where the dog may cause a road traffic collision where human safety is at risk. Where a dog is close to a livestock farm, then the likelihood of the dog being shot if, for example, they seen in a field with sheep and lambs would also be a factor. Other cases where darting should be a first option are where the dog is aggressive, or potentially dangerous to humans.
In the case of a vulnerable dog that is particularly fearful, prolonging their time within dynamic circumstances while methods such as trapping over weeks, or even months are attempted is more stressful for the animal than RCI, bringing their fear and stress levels back under immediate control. Forcing a particularly vulnerable dog to make cautious attempts to enter a trap for a feed over a number of nights is not pleasant for anyone, and not least the dog. Darting eliminates the need for the dog to combat their own way through their fears of entering a contained space. In those cases, darting should be the very first choice. Most of the difficult dogs we take on are already fearful after enduring weeks, months, or even years of failed capture attempts. Some are also visually vulnerable and unpredictable due to fear. In those cases, the prolonging of such mental fear is torturous and certainly not in the best interests of the dog.
