In the absence of frequent incidents, exercises can bring wildlife challenges alive and bring planners and decision makers to realise that preparedness must be in place. Moreover, exercises are an essential way in which experts can develop their individual and group experiences and learn about the potential but also the limitations of their capabilities.

This document highlights the importance of exercising in wildlife emergency response preparedness and shows how meaningful wildlife response exercises can be scheduled, designed and developed. The guidelines provide not only a full description of the different types of exercises but also how to select the right type depending on the wildlife aspects that need to be exercised. The document also discovers various strategic aspects of exercises and provides multiple exercise examples where wildlife aspects have been developed and tested.