Evaluation of two methods for mass euthanasia of poultry in disease outbreaks

Kingston, Susan K.; Dussault, Clement A.; Zaidlicz, Ronald S.; Faltas, Nasry H.; Geib, Mary E.; Taylor, Sylvia; Holt, Tom; Porter-Spalding, Barbara A.

doi:10.2460/javma.2005.227.730

Cited by 21 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The flndings from this study are consistent with results seen when either end-of-lay hens or broiler chickens are stunned or euthanatized by GO2 inhalation in small chamber controlled atmosphere environments (Webster and Fletcher, 2001;Gerritzen et al, 2004;Kingston et al, 2005;McKeegan et al, 2007). Typically, higher GO2 levels (initially 35-45%) are used for stunning-kill procedures in abattoirs because of the shorter exposure period of birds to gas before exsanguination.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Calculation estimates for the volume of CO2 gas required for whole barn depopulations have been described and are determined by multiplying barn volume by both the target level of CO2 desired and a conversion factor that describes the change in volume of liquid CO2 to its gaseous state; that is, 0.45 kg or 1 lb of liquid CO2 generates 0.25 m^ (8.75 ft^) gas at 1 atm pressure and 21°C (Kingston et al, 2005). This estimate results in roughly a 1:1 correlation between barn volume and volume of CO2 gas required for depopulation, assuming a target CO2 level of 45%.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mass depopulation of laying hens in whole barns with liquid carbon dioxide: Evaluation of welfare impact

et al. 2012

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Appropriate emergency disaster preparedness is a key priority for agricultural agencies to allow effective response to serious avian disease outbreaks. There is a need to develop rapid, humane, and safe depopulation techniques for poultry that are widely applicable across a range of farm settings. Whole barn depopulation with carbon dioxide (CO(2)) has been investigated as a humane and efficient means of killing large numbers of birds in the event of a reportable disease outbreak. It has also been considered as a method for depopulating barns containing end-of-lay hens, particularly when there is limited local slaughter and rendering capacity. Determining the best method of humanely killing large flocks of birds remains problematic and is being investigated by a coordinated international effort. While whole barn depopulation using CO(2) inhalation has been explored, physiologic responses of chickens have not been characterized in field settings and assessment of animal welfare is hampered without this information. In this study, 12 cull laying hens were surgically instrumented with telemetry transmitters to record electroencephalographs, electrocardiographs, body temperature, and activity during 2 large-scale field CO(2) euthanasia trials of end-of-lay hens. The day following surgery, instrumented hens were placed in barns with other birds, barns were sealed, and animals were killed by CO(2) inhalation delivered via a specially designed liquid CO(2) manifold. Instrumented birds were monitored by infrared thermography, and ambient temperature, CO(2), and O(2) concentrations were recorded. Results from these studies indicate that instrumented hens lost consciousness within 2 min of CO(2) levels reaching 18 to 20%. Mild to moderate head shaking, gasping, and 1 to 2 clonic muscle contractions were noted in hens before unconsciousness; however, brain death followed rapidly (<5 min). Evaluation of welfare costs and benefits suggest clear advantages over catching and transporting cull hens for slaughter. The financial costs with this method are greater, however, than those estimated for traditional slaughter techniques. Results of these studies are being used to develop national protocols for whole barn depopulation of hens by CO(2) inhalation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass depopulation of laying hens in whole barns with liquid carbon dioxide: Evaluation of welfare impact

et al. 2012

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“….likely to be experiencing pain, for at least 10 to 15 seconds in high concentrations of CO 2 '. CO 2 is in widespread use for euthanasia of poultry and other animals (Kingston et al 2005;Gerritzen et al 2006;AVMA 2007), although the evidence suggests that it may not be the most humane method available. Apart from the issue of humaneness, a major obstacle to the use of CO 2 as a euthanasia agent is cost, especially for budgetconstrained community groups.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practicality and humaneness of euthanasia of pest birds with compressed carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) from petrol engine exhaust

Tidemann

King

2009

Wildl. Res.

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Abstract. Feral birds degrade the environment and have an adverse impact on human health, welfare and economy in many parts of the world. In eastern Australia, common myna (Acridotheres tristis), common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) and house sparrow (Passer domesticus) have recently become targets of community groups seeking to control impacts by selective livetrapping. We sought a safe and practical euthanasia method that could be recommended to such groups for humanely destroying trapped birds. We compared the practicality and humaneness of the following two commonly available inhalant euthanasia agents: (1) carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from cylinders and (2) carbon monoxide (CO) from cooled exhaust from idling petrol engines. Test birds were euthanased in conditions that promoted calm (small groups of birds; small covered chambers with perches). Video recordings were analysed in real time and at 1/10 speed for signs of distress, and times to recumbency and last movement. In all, 25 mynas and 24 starlings were euthanased with CO 2 , and 32 mynas, 30 starlings and 8 sparrows with CO. Times to recumbency for birds euthanased with CO 2 varied from 20 to 85 s and time to last movement from 65 to 153 s. For birds euthanased with CO, these times were 7-180 s and 43-240 s respectively. Mynas and starlings euthanased with CO 2 showed substantially more signs of distress (gaping and head-shaking) before recumbency than did birds euthanased with CO, although this was less pronounced if the concentration was increased slowly. No signs of distress were observed in any birds euthanased with CO, irrespective of the rate at which the concentration was increased. CO produced a comparably rapid, and more humane death than did CO 2 in birds of all three study species. The study indicated that, with simple precautions to avoid accidental exposure, CO in cooled exhaust from petrol engines provides a safe, rapid and humane agent for euthanasing mynas, starlings and sparrows, that is readily available at a very low cost. We tested only three species, and the results suggested that it would be useful to re-examine the embargo against animal euthanasia via engine exhaust, that exists in many jurisdictions.

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“…Post-mortem measures for the neck trauma methods highlighted that the MPLI caused numerically more instances (though not significant) of cause skin tears and external bleeding, which could be considered a practical issue in a commercial environment due to biosecurity, human health and safety as well as being visually un-appealing (Kingsten et al, 2005;Halvorson and Hueston, 2006;Gerritzen and Raj, 2009). The MPLI, designed to dislocate the cervical vertebrae, only caused dislocation 45% of the time and caused crushing injury to the trachea as well as to the oesophagus.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Martin

McKeegan

Sparrey³

et al. 2017

British Poultry Science

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Abstract. 1. Four mechanical poultry killing devices; modified Armadillo (MARM), modified Rabbit Zinger (MZIN), modified pliers (MPLI) and a novel mechanical cervical dislocation gloved device (NMCD), were assessed for their killing potential in the cadavers of euthanised birds of 4 type/age combinations: layer/adult, layer/pullet, broiler/slaughter-age and broiler/chick. 2. A 4x4x4 factorial design (batch x device x bird type + age) was employed. Ten bird cadavers per bird type and age were tested with each of the 4 devices (N = 160 birds). All cadavers were examined post-mortem to establish the anatomical damage caused by each device.3. Three of the mechanical methods: NMCD, MARM and MZIN demonstrated killing potential, as well as consistency in their anatomical effects, with device success rates of over 50% indicating that the devices performed optimally more than half of the time. NMCD had the highest killing potential, with 100% of birds sustaining the required physical trauma to have caused rapid death.4. The MPLI was inconsistent, and only performed optimally for 27.5% of birds, despite good killing potential when performing well. Severe crushing injury was seen in >50% of MPLI birds, suggesting that birds would die of asphyxia rather than cerebral ischaemia, a major welfare concern. As a result, the modified pliers are not recommended as a humane onfarm killing device for chickens.5. This experiment provides important data on the killing potential of untried novel percussive and mechanical cervical dislocation methods, informing future studies.

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Evaluation of two methods for mass euthanasia of poultry in disease outbreaks

Cited by 21 publications

References 10 publications

Mass depopulation of laying hens in whole barns with liquid carbon dioxide: Evaluation of welfare impact

Mass depopulation of laying hens in whole barns with liquid carbon dioxide: Evaluation of welfare impact

Practicality and humaneness of euthanasia of pest birds with compressed carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) from petrol engine exhaust

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

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