A review of bird welfare during controlled atmosphere and electrical water-bath stunning

Johnson, Cia L.

doi:10.2460/javma.245.1.60

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…These are considered signs of distress when they occur prior to recumbency but are considered reflexive when EEG activity and brainstem reflexes are absent. [19][20][21] In the present study, the occurrence of beak movements relative to the EEG pattern was inconsistent in the 3 birds for which it was observed, and the small numbers made interpretation difficult.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 63%

Comparison of intraosseous pentobarbital administration and thoracic compression for euthanasia of anesthetized sparrows (Passer domesticus) and starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)

Paul-Murphy¹,

Engilis

Pascoe

et al. 2017

ajvr

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OBJECTIVE To compare intraosseous pentobarbital treatment (IPT) and thoracic compression (TC) on time to circulatory arrest and an isoelectric electroencephalogram (EEG) in anesthetized passerine birds. ANIMALS 30 wild-caught adult birds (17 house sparrows [Passer domesticus] and 13 European starlings [Sturnus vulgaris]). PROCEDURES Birds were assigned to receive IPT or TC (n = 6/species/group). Birds were anesthetized, and carotid arterial pulses were monitored by Doppler methodology. Five subdermal braided-wire electrodes were used for EEG. Anesthetic depth was adjusted until a continuous EEG pattern was maintained, then euthanasia was performed. Times from initiation of euthanasia to cessation of carotid pulse and irreversible isoelectric EEG (indicators of death) were measured. Data (medians and first to third quartiles) were summarized and compared between groups within species. Necropsies were performed for all birds included in experiments and for another 6 birds euthanized under anesthesia by TC (4 sparrows and 1 starling) or IPT (1 sparrow). RESULTS Median time to isoelectric EEG did not differ significantly between treatment groups for sparrows (19.0 and 6.0 seconds for TC and IPT, respectively) or starlings (88.5 and 77.5 seconds for TC and IPT, respectively). Median times to cessation of pulse were significantly shorter for TC than for IPT in sparrows (0.0 vs 18.5 seconds) and starlings (9.5 vs 151.0 seconds). On necropsy, most (14/17) birds that underwent TC had grossly visible coelomic, pericardial, or perihepatic hemorrhage. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results suggested that TC might be an efficient euthanasia method for small birds. Digital pressure directly over the heart during TC obstructed venous return, causing rapid circulatory arrest, with rupture of the atria or vena cava in several birds. The authors propose that cardiac compression is a more accurate description than TC for this procedure.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 63%

Comparison of intraosseous pentobarbital administration and thoracic compression for euthanasia of anesthetized sparrows (Passer domesticus) and starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)

Paul-Murphy¹,

Engilis

Pascoe

et al. 2017

ajvr

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“…( 2013 ) noted that the most common stunning process is electric stunning ( ES ) in which the chicken are either dumped/tipped out or extracted by hand from the transport crates, and placed upside down in shackles, and passed through a conducting salt water bath with an applied voltage sufficient to cause unconsciousness and/or death. Recognizing that handling and being shackled upside down stresses the birds (Gentle and Tilston, 2000 ); alternative methods for stunning have been developed, including controlled atmosphere stunning ( CAS ) and LAPS (Johnson ( 2014 ). Some CAS methods rely simply on reduction of oxygen to levels below which the bird cannot survive typically by diluting air with argon or nitrogen so that oxygen is below 2 to 5% for 2 to 5 minutes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of ambient temperature and water vapor on chamber pressure and oxygen level during low atmospheric pressure stunning of poultry

Holloway¹,

Pritchard²

2017

Poultry Science

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The characteristics of the vacuum used in a low atmospheric pressure stunning system to stun (render unconscious) poultry prior to slaughter are described. A vacuum chamber is pumped by a wet screw compressor. The vacuum pressure is reduced from ambient atmospheric pressure to an absolute vacuum pressure of ∼250 Torr (∼33 kPa) in ∼67 sec with the vacuum gate valve fully open. At ∼250 Torr, the sliding gate valve is partially closed to reduce effective pumping speed, resulting in a slower rate of decreasing pressure. Ambient temperature affects air density and water vapor pressure and thereby oxygen levels and the time at the minimum total pressure of ∼160 Torr (∼21 kPa) is varied from ∼120 to ∼220 sec to ensure an effective stun within the 280 seconds of each cycle. The reduction in total pressure results in a gradual reduction of oxygen partial pressure that was measured by a solid-state electrochemical oxygen sensor. The reduced oxygen pressure leads to hypoxia, which is recognized as a humane method of stunning poultry. The system maintains an oxygen concentration of <5% for at least 2 minutes, which ensures that birds are irreversibly stunned. Calculated pump down (pressure versus time) data match experimental data very closely because the programmable logic controller and the human machine interface enable precise and accurate control. The vacuum system operates in the turbulent viscous flow regime, and is best characterized by absolute vacuum pressure rather than gauge pressure. Neither the presence of broiler chickens nor different fore-line pipe designs of four parallel commercial systems affected the pressure-time data. Water in wet air always reduces the oxygen concentrations to a value lower than in dry air. The partial pressure of water and oxygen were found to depend on the pump down parameters due to the formation of fog in the chamber and desorption of water from the birds and the walls of the vacuum chamber.

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“…Low Atmospheric Pressure Stunning (LAPS) is a novel approach to pre-slaughter stunning of poultry in which birds are rendered unconscious by gradually reducing air pressure and thus oxygen tension to achieve a progressive hypobaric hypoxia. LAPS shares many of the welfare advantages of controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS) systems, which use exposure to hypoxic and/or hypercapnic gas mixtures, reliably and irreversibly stunning birds in their transport crates (Vizzier-Thaxton et al, 2010;Johnson, 2013). A major benefit of CAS systems and the LAPS system is that they avoid the considerable stress and pain of shackling of conscious birds (Gentle and Tilston, 2000) and 100% of the chickens are rendered insensible before shackling and bleeding.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While there has been much research to determine humane gas mixtures for CAS (e.g. McKeegan et al, 2007;Johnson, 2013;Joseph et al, 2013), less is known about the welfare impact of LAPS.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of analgesic intervention on behavioural responses to Low Atmospheric Pressure Stunning

Martin

Christensen

Vizzier-Thaxton

et al. 2016

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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• A novel stunning system uses hypobaric hypoxia to render poultry unconscious. 29• We investigated whether an opioid analgesic affected behavioural responses to this 30 process. 31• Evidence for pain was limited and observed responses relate primarily to hypoxia. 32• This approach appears to be equivalent in welfare terms to stunning with inert gases. 33• These findings contribute to a wider welfare assessment of low atmospheric pressure

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A review of bird welfare during controlled atmosphere and electrical water-bath stunning

Cited by 5 publications

References 40 publications

Comparison of intraosseous pentobarbital administration and thoracic compression for euthanasia of anesthetized sparrows (Passer domesticus) and starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)

Comparison of intraosseous pentobarbital administration and thoracic compression for euthanasia of anesthetized sparrows (Passer domesticus) and starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)

Effects of ambient temperature and water vapor on chamber pressure and oxygen level during low atmospheric pressure stunning of poultry

Effects of analgesic intervention on behavioural responses to Low Atmospheric Pressure Stunning

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