Is there a due diligence standard for wildlife disease surveillance? A Canadian case study.

Due diligence is a concept used to justify investment in wildlife health surveillance to satisfy trading partners and other animal health stakeholders. Canadian literature and legislation were reviewed and key informant interviews were used to determine if a wildlife surveillance due diligence standard existed. Wildlife surveillance is constrained by challenges that necessitate convenience and opportunistic sampling, making it difficult to apply surveillance performance standards from public or domestic animal health. Key informants cited due diligence to justify wildlife health surveillance activities but could not identify a due diligence threshold nor could regulations, international obligations, or the literature. The lack of a due diligence standard puts wildlife health surveillance managers at a disadvantage when trying to show public return on investment or when assessing the adequacy of surveillance efforts. Steps being taken by the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative to meet the performance needs of the Pan-Canadian Approach to Wildlife Health are introduced.