Analysis of the use of the "CASH" Dispatch Kit captive bolt gun as a single stage euthanasia process for pigs

Woods, Jennifer

doi:10.31274/etd-180810-1851

Cited by 12 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 18 publications

(6 reference statements)

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“…In an evaluation of the efficacy of a captive bolt device that was nearly identical to the model used in our study, Woods (2012) concluded that the device was effective and reliable for the euthanasia of pigs as heavy as 200 kg. However, its use in pigs that weighed greater than 200 kg was not consistently effective and reliable ( Woods, 2012 ). The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) ( 2004 ) also identified that the efficacy of captive bolt stunning is dependent on accurate shot placement, but may be ineffective in some mature sows and boars.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 61%

“…The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) ( 2004 ) also identified that the efficacy of captive bolt stunning is dependent on accurate shot placement, but may be ineffective in some mature sows and boars. Woods (2012) specifically investigated the efficacy of captive bolt application to the frontal location of the head. Chevillon et al (2004) reported that the captive bolt pistol is the recommended euthanasia method for piglets heavier than 8 kg, growing pigs, and breeding animals; provided the efficacy, feasibility, and cost compared with other euthanasia methods.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Relationship of captive bolt stunning location with basic tissue measurements and exposed cross-sectional brain area in cadaver heads from market pigs1

Anderson

Ries

Backes

et al. 2019

Translational Animal Science

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The objective of this study was to contrast the soft tissue thickness, cranial thickness, total tissue thickness, cross-sectional brain area, and bolt–brain contact from the common frontal application of captive bolt euthanasia with the alternative location behind the ear in cadaver swine heads. Twenty-three cadaver heads from pigs that were approximately 136 kg and 6 mo of age were collected from a regional slaughter establishment following CO2 stunning and assigned to either the FRONTAL (n = 11) or the CAUDAL TO PINNA (n = 12) application of the captive bolt. The soft tissue thickness was different (P < 0.0001) between the 2 applications (FRONTAL: 8.3 ± 3.4 mm; CAUDAL TO PINNA: 56.5 ± 3.4 mm). The cranial thickness was different (P < 0.0001) between the applications (FRONTAL: 23.4 ± 2.9 mm; CAUDAL TO PINNA: 26.5 ± 2.9 mm). There was also a difference (P < 0.0001) in the total tissue thickness between the 2 applications (FRONTAL: 31.7 ± 3.8 mm; CAUDAL TO PINNA: 73.4 ± 3.8 mm). Cross-sectional area was calculated from images collected immediately after the heads were cut along the plane of bolt travel by bandsaw and was different (P = 0.0028) between the 2 applications (FRONTAL: 25.2 ± 1.3 cm2; CAUDAL TO PINNA: 18.9 ± 1.3 cm2). Bolt–brain contact was also assessed from the images, and a difference (P = 0.0360) between the 2 applications (FRONTAL: 100 ± 10.5%; CAUDAL TO PINNA: 66.7 ± 10.5%) was identified. The results of this study suggest that the FRONTAL application may provide a bolt path with less tissue to travel through when compared with the CAUDAL TO PINNA application for pigs of the approximate age and weight of those in this study. Ultimately, the FRONTAL location may present less risk for the captive bolt euthanasia of swine at market weight at this time. Additional refinement of the CAUDAL TO PINNA procedure and modification to the captive bolt device to penetrate to a suitable depth to ensure brain damage is recommended.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 61%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship of captive bolt stunning location with basic tissue measurements and exposed cross-sectional brain area in cadaver heads from market pigs1

Anderson

Ries

Backes

et al. 2019

Translational Animal Science

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“…However, a temporal position was used by Finnie et al (2003), confirming the importance of NPCB placement on the forehead of swine. Forehead placement was also found to cause immediate insensibility and death in weaned pigs using the Cash Euthanizer NPCB (Woods, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These grand mal convulsive movements are involuntary neuromuscular responses indicative of epileptiform brain activity following severe concussion (Shaw, 2002) and during electrical stunning in pigs (McKinstry and Anil, 2004). Varying degrees of these convulsive movements have been reported following application of all available euthanasia techniques for pigs including BFT and NPCB (Chevillon et al, 2004;Widowski et al, 2008;Woods, 2012) and CO 2 (Raj and Gregory, 1996;Sutherland, 2010;Sadler et al, 2014). The convulsive period was similar to the 1 to 1.5 min typically seen with BFT (Chevillon et al, 2004;Widowski et al, 2008) and shorter than other NPCB devices falling within the range or 1 to 4 min reported by Woods (2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of a nonpenetrating captive bolt for euthanasia of 3 kg to 9 kg pigs1

Casey-Trott

Millman

Turner

et al. 2014

Journal of Animal Science

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The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a nonpenetrating captive bolt, Zephyr-E, for euthanasia of suckling and weaned pigs from 3 to 9 kg (5-49 d of age) using signs of insensibility and death as well as postmortem assessment of traumatic brain injury (TBI). The Zephyr-E was used by 15 stock people to euthanize 150 compromised pigs from 4 farrowing and nursery units from commercial farms and 2 research stations. Brainstem reflexes, convulsions, and heartbeat were used to assess insensibility, time of brain death, and cardiac arrest following Zephyr-E application. Skull fracture displacement (FD) was quantified from computed tomography (CT) scans (n = 24), macroscopic scoring was used to assess brain hemorrhage and skull fracture severity (n = 150), and microscopic scoring was used to assess subdural hemorrhage (SDH) and parenchymal hemorrhage within specific brain regions that are responsible for consciousness and vital function (n = 32). The Zephyr-E caused immediate, sustained insensibility until death in 98.6% of pigs. On average, clonic convulsions (CC) ceased in 82.2 s (± 3.4 SE), brain death was achieved in 144.9 s (± 5.4 SE), and cardiac arrest occurred in 226.5 s (± 8.7 SE). Time of brain death and cardiac arrest differed significantly among stock people (P = 0.0225 and P = 0.0369). Age was positively related to the duration of CC (P = 0.0092), time of brain death (P = 0.0025), and cardiac arrest (P = 0.0068) with shorter durations seen in younger pigs. Average FD was 8.3 mm (± 1.0 SE). Macroscopic scores were significantly different among weight classes for subcutaneous (P = 0.0402) and subdural-ventral (P = 0.0037) hemorrhage with the lowest severity hemorrhage found in the 9-kg weight category. Microscopic scores differed among brain sections (P = 0.0070) for SDH with lower scores found in the brainstem compared to the cerebral cortex and midbrain. Parenchymal hemorrhage differed among brain sections (P = 0.0052) and weight categories (P = 0.0128) with the lowest scores in the midbrain and brainstem and the 7- and 9-kg weight categories. The Zephyr-E was highly effective for the euthanasia of pigs up to 9 kg (49 d) based on immediate insensibility sustained until death. Postmortem results confirmed that severe skull fracture and widespread brain hemorrhage were caused by the Zephyr-E nonpenetrating captive bolt.

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“…Business operators should encourage additional stun/ kill interventions when necessary and provide adequate tools. A high-energy captive bolt gun seems to be a reliable tool for euthanasia in the context discussed here (Woods, 2012). It should be preferred over electrical methods, as long as doubts regarding their effectiveness following CO 2 stunning have not been disproven (EFSA, 2004).…”

Section: Activity In Hot Watermentioning

confidence: 99%

Hot-water spraying is a sensitive test for signs of life before dressing and scalding in pig abattoirs with carbon dioxide (CO2) stunning

Parotat

Holleben²,

Arnold

et al. 2016

animal

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This study investigated the benefits of hot-water spraying (HWS) as a diagnostic test to verify the absence of signs of life (SOL) before scalding in pigs slaughtered with carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) stunning. A total of 37 108 finishing pigs from five German abattoirs (A to E) operating at 55 to 571 pigs per hour were assessed. Suspended pigs were sprayed onto the muzzle, head and front legs (143 to 258 s post sticking for 4 to 10 s, 57°C to 72°C). Any active movements during HWS were rated as positive test outcomes. In comparison, SOL were considered to be absent if a subsequent manual examination was negative and no active movements were observed following HWS. The incidence of pigs with activity during hot-water spraying (PWA) was restricted to two abattoirs (B: 0.25%; D: 0.02%; A, C, E: 0.00%). PWA showed movements of facial muscles (88%), mouth opening (78%), righting reflex (63%), isolated leg movements (35%) and vocalization (4%). The manual examination was positive in 71% of PWA (corneal/dazzle reflex: 67%/53%, nasal septum pinch: 33%), whereas all inactive pigs tested negative ( P < 0.001). The sensitivity for HWS as a test for SOL was calculated as 100%, dropping to 75% when only obvious and strong movements were taken into account. The specificity was >99.9% in either case. Any positive manual findings as well as any respiratory activity were instantly terminated using a penetrating captive bolt. Active movements triggered by the shot were shown to be an indicator for SOL (P < 0.001). Video analyses revealed that spontaneous movements (SM) following sticking were present in 100% of PWA as opposed to 3.1% in pigs without such activity (controls). Results for different categories of SM in PWA v. controls were as follows: 100% v. 2.6% for mouth opening, 16.0% v. 0.1% for righting reflex and 22.0% v. 0.9% for isolated leg movements (all P < 0.001). First mouth opening after sticking was observed later in PWA (28 ± 24 v. 10 ± 7 s), but mouth openings were observed for a longer period of time (141 ± 44 v. 27 ± 25 s) (both P < 0.001). PWA with shorter mouth-opening intervals showed higher movement intensities during HWS and more positive manual findings (P < 0.05). We conclude that HWS is a promising test for SOL. SM and sustained mouth opening in particular are indicators for compromised animal welfare and affected pigs should be shot by captive bolt.

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Analysis of the use of the "CASH" Dispatch Kit captive bolt gun as a single stage euthanasia process for pigs

Cited by 12 publications

References 18 publications

Relationship of captive bolt stunning location with basic tissue measurements and exposed cross-sectional brain area in cadaver heads from market pigs1

Relationship of captive bolt stunning location with basic tissue measurements and exposed cross-sectional brain area in cadaver heads from market pigs1

Effectiveness of a nonpenetrating captive bolt for euthanasia of 3 kg to 9 kg pigs1

Hot-water spraying is a sensitive test for signs of life before dressing and scalding in pig abattoirs with carbon dioxide (CO2) stunning

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