Simple SummaryThe humane destruction of newborn piglets (neonates), when required, is an issue faced by farmers and producers. The application of blunt force trauma, either through swinging the animal against a wall, or hitting it with a weighted object, is a stressful procedure for the stock person and has implications for the animal in terms of welfare, instantaneous effect and reproducibility. The United Kingdom government funded this project to find a single application method that could be used on farms that would produce an immediate kill with these animals. This project demonstrates that the use of a mechanical captive bolt device, that does not enter the head, delivers sufficient energy when applied to the head of a piglet to immediately destroy the brain leading to the death of the animal. This method will improve animal welfare on farms, as well as providing producers with a device that they can be confident will kill the animal without pain, as the brain is destroyed before the animal can perceive a pain nerve impulse.AbstractThe most common method for the on-farm euthanasia of neonate piglets is reported to be manual blunt force trauma. This paper presents the results of research to evaluate a mechanical non-penetrating captive bolt (the Accles and Shelvoke CASH small animal tool, Birmingham, UK) to produce an immediate stun/kill with neonate piglets. One hundred and forty-seven piglets (average dead weight = 1.20 kg ± 0.58 (standard deviation, SD), mean age = 5.8 days (median = 3)) were euthanized with the device and demonstrated immediate loss of consciousness, subjectively assessed by behavioural signs and no recovery. The result that 147 out of 147 animals were effectively stun/killed gives a 95% confidence interval for the true percentage of animals that would be effectively stun/killed of 97.5–100% with the use of the CASH small animal tool under the conditions of the current study. This research concludes that the CASH small animal tool, using a 1 grain brown coded cartridge, is suitable for producing a stun/kill in neonate piglets when applied in a frontal/parietal position.

To determine if mechanical blunt force trauma using a non-penetrating captive bolt was a viable method of producing an immediate stun/kill in neonate piglets (Sus scrofa domesticus) as an alternative to manual blunt force trauma. Piglets (n = 60) were acquired from a local producer and allocated to one of five weight ranges: birth weight to 3 kg (n = 12); 3 to 5 kg (n = 11); 5 to 7 kg (n = 13); 7 to 9 kg (n = 13); and 9 to 11 kg (n = 11). These piglets with an average live-weight of 6.1 kg were anaesthetised and electroencephalogram (EEG) recording electrodes inserted sub-dermally over the right cranium to allow recording of Visual Evoked Potentials (VEPs). Following recording of baseline VEPs in the anaesthetised state, the piglet was shot once in the frontal-parietal position with a Bock Industries Zephyr EXL non-penetrating captive bolt powered by 120 psi air pressure. Movement scoring, behavioural indices of loss of brain function and VEPs were monitored throughout. VEPs were lost immediately in all piglets shot when the head was resting on a hard surface. This experiment demonstrates that mechanical blunt-force trauma, using a single-shot, non-penetrating captive bolt, such as the Zephyr EXL, provides for an immediate stun kill in neonate piglets up to 10.9 kg live-weight. This immediacy of action, combined with reproducible effects will improve the welfare of piglets to be subjected to on-farm euthanasia due to disease, ill-thrift or other commercial concerns.

A previous study demonstrated the effectiveness of the Bock Industries Zephyr EXL nonpenetrating captive bolt, using the abolition of visual evoked potentials as a determination of brain death, in piglets in a laboratory. A second trial reported here, involved the field-testing of this device, on-farm, in a commercial setting. Two hundred and seven piglets (average dead weight =1.86 kg ±0.74) requiring dispatch under the farm's protocols were euthanized with the device and demonstrated immediate loss of consciousness, subjectively assessed by behavioural signs and no recovery. Post mortem examination of the heads was undertaken confirming massive traumatic damage to the cerebrum with associated haemorrhage and bone plate shards forced down to the level of the corpus callosum in the majority of cases. A further trial of 106 piglets demonstrated that under commercial production conditions it took less than seven seconds to select, place and euthanase a piglet using the device. One hundred per cent of animals in the study were immediately killed. Given this complete kill rate and the sample size of the study, a statistical 95% confidence interval provides a maximum percentage of animals that would not immediately be stunned/killed, by this mechanical non-penetrating captive bolt system, to be at most 1.2% and at least 0%. The results of this study, combined with the previous study allow for the recommendation that the Bock Industries Zephyr EXL is suitable as a single application euthanasia device for piglets up to 10.9 Kg liveweight.

Simple SummaryNo stockperson or producer of lamb wants or likes to euthanase their young animals (neonates). At present, there are few reliable methods of achieving a humane dispatch of a neonate lamb should it be required. In the United Kingdom, the main method used in these cases is manually impacting the head by swinging the animal against a hard surface or hitting the animal with a hard object such as a hammer. This paper examines the use of a blank cartridge powered device to stun-kill neonate lambs immediately (i.e., before the animal can feel the application). Using this method, a suitable application point and power of cartridge has been determined, providing the stockperson with a reliable and repeatable single application method for euthanasing young lambs without the animal feeling any pain, as the device produces brain death faster than the nerve impulse can travel to the brain. This will improve animal welfare on-farm in these circumstances.AbstractA non-penetrating captive bolt device, powered by a 1-grain 0.22″ cartridge delivering a calculated kinetic energy of 47 Joules was tested as a euthanasia method on 200 neonate lambs (Ovis aries) of 4.464 kg (SD (Standard deviation) ± 1.056) mean dead weight, to assess effectiveness and shot position. Every lamb (n = 200) was effectively stunned when the weapon was applied powered by a brown, 1-grain cartridge but 10/200 (5%) of the lambs displayed rhythmic or agonal breathing and were subsequently euthanased using euthatal (Merial, UK, GTIN: 03661103015550). Evaluation of the method was conducted using behavioural indicators of brain dysfunction followed by post-mortem examination of the heads. A second trial was conducted using a higher velocity 1.25-grain cartridge and a specific shot position on 48 lambs (mean dead weight = 6.21 kg, SD ± 1.24) averaging 5 days old. One hundred percent of the lambs in the second trial were immediately stun-killed. Given this complete kill rate and the sample size of the study, the study provides a statistical 95% confidence interval of 92.6% to 100%. The use of the Accles & Shelvoke “CASH” Small Animal Tool (Birmingham, UK) can therefore be recommended for the euthanasia of neonate lambs with a 1.25-grain cartridge and a specific shooting position.

Simple SummaryWith animal production systems, there is an inevitable need for the stock person to humanely kill new-born (neonate) animals, either due to disease, malformation, or in instances of production efficiency (males born to a milking herd for example). At present, the standard method employed is manual killing with a blunt object or swinging the animal so that its’ head contacts a hard surface such as a wall. Stockpeople do not like performing this action and it also has consequences for the animal in terms of reproducibility and ability of the stockperson. This study examines the use of a mechanical captive bolt device to produce immediate brain death in neonate goats, causing this state of irreversible brain dysfunction before the animal can feel the procedure, or the effects of the procedure. This study found that a device powered by a blank cartridge, containing a specified amount of explosive (1 grain), when applied in a specific position on the head produced immediate brain death in neonate goats. As such, this method is considered to be a reproducible and humane method of euthanasia, as the brain is destroyed before the animal can feel the shot.AbstractA non-penetrating captive bolt device, powered by a 1 grain 0.22″ cartridge delivering a calculated kinetic energy of 47 Joules was tested as a euthanasia method on 200 neonate goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) of mean dead weight = 4.425 kg (SD (Standard deviation) ± 0.4632), to assess effectiveness and shot position. Evaluation of the method was conducted using behavioural indicators of brain dysfunction followed by post mortem examination of the heads. Once correct shot position had been established, 100% of 158 kids (95% confidence interval 97.5% to 100%) were successfully stunned/killed with a shot positioned on the midline, between the ears, with the chin tucked into the neck. The use of the Accles and Shelvoke CASH Small Animal Tool can therefore be recommended for the euthanasia of neonate goats with a 1 grain cartridge and a specific shooting position.

Pre-slaughter stunning is required for humane slaughter. For turkeys, head-only electrical stunning is most often used by small scale producers. To ensure immediate and effective stunning, the impedance (resistance) of the tissue of the head of the animal situated between the two electrodes needs to be overcome swiftly. The impedance is a function of the voltage and decreases non-linearly with increasing voltage. In this paper, we describe a method to assess the minimum voltage needed at which the impedance no longer decreases, that is likely to produce an effective stun. For ethical reasons, gas stunned, electrically naïve turkeys were used to measure impedance at various levels of voltage and current. Several combinations of voltage and frequency, alternate current (AC), direct current (DC) and pulsed DC, were identified that would be sufficient to achieve the maximum decrease in the impedance, and therefore would allow the highest current and the most effective stun. A minimum, expressed as Root Mean Squared voltage, of 150 V and 50 Hz. would be required in AC, 175 V in pulsed DC at 30% cycle (150 at 50% cycle), and 225 V if voltage spikes of very short duration were used. Sinusoidal AC applied at 150 V, 50 Hz was selected for further testing.

Blank cartridges provide the power source for the majority of captive bolt devices used for rendering animals unconscious prior to slaughter within the United Kingdom or euthanasia worldwide. This paper presents the results of the examination of cartridges as one of the variables that can contribute to an unsuccessful application of this method in practice. Variation was found in cartridge weight, propellant fill volume and velocity within boxes of 1000 cartridges. The variation found was greater in lower charge (1.00 grain) cartridges than in 3.00 grain cartridges, however velocity was found to be variable in both sets. For example, in vivo velocity measurements with 0.25″ calibre 3.00 grain cartridges demonstrated an average velocity of 50.8 m/s over 200 shots with a range of 35.7 to 62.9 m/s when used in the same device. This work demonstrates that variation in cartridge performance does occur and can be due to various factors such as fill volume and propellant function, and simply weighing cartridges cannot be used to determine function, therefore cartridge performance must be a factor that is considered in the event of a miss-stun.

The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of the attitudes that those involved in the slaughter industry have towards animal welfare and animal welfare aspects of their work, and also to investigate if gender or characteristics of employment (eg previous training, role and experience) influence such views. A paper questionnaire consisting of 20 Likert items regarding either animal welfare or working in the slaughter industry and seven questions designed to gather information on participant gender and job characteristics was distributed to attendees at eleven Animal Welfare Officer (AWO) and Poultry Welfare Officer (PWO) courses run by the University of Bristol. Responses were received from 215 personnel involved in the slaughter industry. It was found that the views of the majority of the respondents towards animal welfare were positive. Being female, working routinely with mammals, having a longer period of time working in the industry, and having previous AWO/PWO training course experience were all associated with significantly more positive attitudes towards animals and working in the slaughter industry; while working with birds, and working in an enforcement or stockperson role had a significant negative influence on the response to some animal welfare- and employment-related statements. Although it should be considered that individuals attending an animal welfare course may already have an interest in animal welfare, the results suggest that gender and employment factors do influence attitudes to animal welfare in the slaughter industry, and that the origins and reasons for development of certain negative views warrant further investigation.