Current and novel methods for killing poultry individually on-farm

Abstract

This review examines methods for culling small numbers of poultry on farm, considering both common techniques and methods that are yet to be tested on poultry. The aim of this review is to inform the design of experiments that will assess the pros and cons of culling techniques. The methods reviewed include manual and mechanical cervical dislocation, crushing methods (such as burdizzos or pliers), percussive devices, blunt force trauma and a brain-stem piercing device. Previous work on these approaches, of which there is a limited dataset, has relied on behavioural and brain activity as proxy measures of unconsciousness (insensibility) and death, however there remains some uncertainty as to when birds can be considered unequivocally insensible. These factors will be considered when deciding which of the methods will be recommended to be taken forward for further assessment.Keywords: welfare; poultry; culling; novel techniques 2009), providing that this method is not used routinely. It has been commonly used for laying hens, meat chickens, other poultry and game birds and most turkeys less than 14 weeks of age. When done correctly, cervical dislocation should sever the vertebral column from the cranium (i.e. neck dislocation) and rupture the blood vessels that supply

Evaluation of the potential killing performance of novel percussive and cervical dislocation tools in chicken cadavers

“…Ten birds per bird type (+ age) were tested with each of the 4 devices (N = 160 birds). Birds were tested in 4 one-week batches, with birds being tested in blocks of 10 per day in order to minimise any effect of operator fatigue (Sparrey et al, 2014). A Graeco-Latin square was used to balance batch, block, bird type (+ age) and device.…”

“…All methods developed are discussed in detail in Martin (2015) and were designed to comply with the current European legislation, EC1099/2009 (European Council, 2009). The Armadillo (Figure 1a) is a brain-stem penetrating device designed by a veterinarian to dispatch game birds in the field (Sparrey et al, 2014;Martin, 2015). The device consists of a scissor-type mechanism (approximately 17 cm in length); the bird's head is placed into the 'cup' of the lower arm (beak facing downwards) and when ready to apply the operator squeezes the handles together, which pushes the top arm (and the penetrating spike) downwards into the back of the bird's skull, preferably through the foramen magnum, therefore severing the top of the spinal cord (or brain stem), and causing death by cerebral ischaemia.…”

“…Poultry may need to be killed on-farm for multiple reasons (such as, injury, sickness and for stock management). Emergency killing on a large scale is often controlled by whole-house or containerised gas methods (Lambooij et al, 1999;Gerritzen et al, 2004;Gerritzen et al, 2009;McKeegan et al, 2011), but for the killing of smaller numbers of birds on-farm, there are currently two main methods: (i) cervical dislocation, which is designed to cause death by cerebral ischaemia and extensive damage to the spinal cord and brainstem (Ommaya and Gennarelli 1974;Gregory and Wotton 1990;Erasmus et al, 2010a,b;Bader et al, 2014;Martin et al, 2016); and (ii) percussive devices designed to cause extensive brain damage, resulting in brain death (Gregory and Wotton, 1990;HSA, 2004;Mason et al, 2009;Erasmus et al, 2010a,b;Sparrey et al, 2014;Cors et al, 2015).…”

“…It is perceived to be humane by users, is easy to learn and perform, and does not require equipment (Mason et al, 2009;Sparrey et al, 2014;Martin, 2015;Martin et al, 2016). Both manual and mechanical cervical dislocation killing methods are designed to separate the skull from the vertebral column of the bird (ideally C0-C1 vertebral dislocation), resulting in severing of the spinal cord and/or brainstem and the main blood vessels supplying the brain (Gregory and Wotton, 1990;Parent et al, 1992;Veras et al, 2000;Cartner et al, 2007;Mason et al, 2009).…”

“…However, both methods of cervical dislocation have been the subject of welfare concern, as research in the last 40 years has raised questions about their humaneness and consistency in poultry Wotton, 1986, 1990;Erasmus et al, 2010a), as well as other species (Tidswell et al, 1987;Cartner et al, 2007). Some studies have indicated that animals, including poultry, may be conscious for an appreciable period post-application of cervical dislocation (Gregory and Wotton, 1990;Erasmus et al, 2010a;Carbone et al, 2012) and it has been noted that there is high variability in its application by different relevant groups (poultry stock-workers, veterinarians, trained slaughtermen) (Mason et al, 2009;Sparrey et al, 2014). Since January 2013 the use of manual cervical dislocation (MCD) as a killing method for poultry on-farm has been heavily restricted through the new (Erasmus et al, 2010a;Erasmus et al, 2010b;HSA, 2004;Raj and O'Callaghan, 2001), however, none have been enthusiastically adopted across the commercial industry or by small poultry keepers.…”