Euthanasia: Carbon dioxide and on-farm methods

Explore the humane implications of using carbon dioxide in euthanasia, as well as a variety of on-farm killing methods, in this two-part webinar based on presentations given at the 2018 Humane Endings Symposium.

In part one, examine the use of carbon dioxide (CO₂) as a euthanasia agent for small rodents. Join Dr. Kathleen R. Pritchett-Corning to learn about the humaneness, practicality, and utility of current CO₂ standards—including euthanasia chamber fill rates. Review the research behind AVMA’s 2013 Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals, as well as the implications of subsequent feedback and literature.

In part two, evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of various on-farm killing methods for commercial meat rabbits. These include blunt force trauma, mechanical cervical dislocation, a non-penetrating captive bolt device (NPCB), and gradual- and fast-fill chamber exposure to CO₂.  Learn which techniques are most effective for delivering rapid, humane, and irreversible death.

Participants can expect to learn about:

• The humaneness, practicality, and utility of CO₂ as a euthanasia agent in small rodents
• Recommendations about the use of CO₂ in AVMA’s 2013 Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals, and the implications of later research
• The benefits and drawbacks of various on-farm killing methods for commercial meat rabbits

Dr. Kathleen R. Pritchett-Corning has served as senior clinical veterinarian at Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences and an affiliate assistant professor in the department of comparative medicine at the University of Washington. Previously, she held positions at the Jackson Laboratory and Charles River. She earned her DVM from Washington State University and completed post-doctoral training at the University of Washington. Dr. Pritchett-Corning has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications, and in 2015 she received the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science’s Pravin N. Bhatt Scientific Investigator Award.

Jessica Walsh served as the provincial livestock welfare specialist for the Government of Alberta, Canada, overseeing the Canadian Agriculture Partnership Humane Slaughter program, which conducts risk assessments of slaughter facilities, provides financial support for stunning technology adoption and design improvements to animal handling facilities, and offers training to help reduce the risk of animal distress at slaughter. She earned her master’s degree in pathobiology and animal welfare from the University of Guelph, Ontario, where she wrote her thesis on the evaluation of on-farm euthanasia methods of commercial meat rabbits.