Striving for humane deaths for laboratory mice: hypobaric hypoxia provides a potential alternative to carbon dioxide exposure.

Killing is often an unavoidable and necessary procedure for laboratory mice involved in scientific research, and providing a humane death is vital for public acceptance. Exposure to carbon dioxide (CO) gas is the most widely used methodology despite well proven welfare concerns. Consequently, the continued use of CO and its globally permitted status in legislation and guidelines presents an ethical dilemma for users.

Determining Candidate Hypobaric Hypoxia Profiles for Humane Killing of Laboratory Mice.

Millions of mice are used annually in scientific research and must be humanely killed. Despite significant welfare concerns, carbon dioxide exposure remains the most common killing method, primarily because there is no practical and humane alternative. We explored whether hypobaric hypoxia gradual decompression could induce a non-recovery state in anesthetized male C57BL/6 and Balb/c laboratory mice.

Welfare assessment of novel on-farm killing methods for poultry.

There is a need for novel mechanical devices for dispatching poultry on farm following the introduction of EU Regulation (EC) no. 1099/2009 On the Protection of Animals at the Time of Killing. We examined three novel mechanical killing devices: Modified Armadillo, Modified Rabbit Zinger, a novel mechanical cervical dislocation device; and traditional manual cervical dislocation.

Erratum: Martin, J.E., et al. Welfare Risks of Repeated Application of On-Farm Killing Methods for Poultry. 2018, , 39.

The authors wish to make the following correction to their paper[...

Welfare Risks of Repeated Application of On-Farm Killing Methods for Poultry.

Council Regulation (EC) no. 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing restricts the use of manual cervical dislocation in poultry on farms in the European Union (EU) to birds weighing up to 3 kg and 70 birds per person per day. However, few studies have examined whether repeated application of manual cervical dislocation has welfare implications and whether these are dependent on individual operator skill or susceptibility to fatigue.

On Farm Evaluation of a Novel Mechanical Cervical Dislocation Device for Poultry.

Urgent development of alternative on-farm killing methods for poultry is required following the number restrictions placed on the use of traditional manual cervical dislocation by European Legislation (EU 1099/2009). Alternatives must be proven to be humane and, crucially, practical in commercial settings with multiple users. We assessed the performance and reliability of a novel mechanical cervical dislocation device (NMCD) compared to the traditional manual cervical dislocation (MCD) method.

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

1. Four mechanical poultry killing devices; modified Armadillo (MARM), modified Rabbit Zinger (MZIN), modified pliers (MPLI) and a novel mechanical cervical dislocation (NMCD) gloved device, were assessed for their killing potential in the cadavers of euthanised birds. 2.

Physiological and behavioral responses of poultry exposed to gas-filled high expansion foam.

Disease control measures require poultry to be killed on farms to minimize the risk of disease being transmitted to other poultry and, in some cases, to protect public health. We assessed the welfare implications for poultry of the use of high-expansion gas-filled foam as a potentially humane, emergency killing method. In laboratory trials, broiler chickens, adult laying hens, ducks, and turkeys were exposed to air-, N2-, or CO2-filled high expansion foam (expansion ratio 300:1) under standardized conditions.

Stunning and slaughter of ostriches.

A study of the commercial stunning and slaughter of 783 ostriches in a Republic of South African abattoir revealed that a simple ostrich handling system, combined with a leg clamp applied during stunning current flow and operated by experienced ostrich slaughtermen, resulted in a humane, efficient slaughter process. It was estimated that an electrical stunning current in excess of 400 milliamps at 50 Hz AC, applied to the head only, would prevent recovery in more than 90% of the ostriches, when bled within 60 s from the start of stunning. The identification of rhythmic breathing movements indicate the first stages of recovery and is therefore an essential diagnostic 'tool' in recognising the effectiveness of the stunning treatment.

The design of pig stunning tong electrodes-A review.

The effectiveness of current electrical stunning systems for pigs is discussed and the need for improvements in the design and construction of stunning tongs and electrodes are explored. A review of existing stunning tong electrodes for use with free standing or restrained pig is discussed. The potential problems with existing systems are highlighted as: (1) the profile of the pigs head precludes the application of existing electrodes in the correct position; (2) the small area of contact enhances carbon build-up which increases electrical impedance; (3) the electrodes are easily tarnished with few cleaning tools provided.