Determination of Dairy Cattle Euthanasia Criteria and Analysis of Barriers to Humane Euthanasia in the United States: The Veterinarian Perspective
Abstract
:Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Part I: Survey
2.1.1. Development and Participant Recruitment
2.1.2. The Survey
2.1.3. Data Analysis
2.2. Part II: Focus Group
2.2.1. Development and Participant Recruitment
2.2.2. Focus Group Format
2.2.3. Qualitative Focus Group Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Part I: Demographics
3.2. Part I: Decision Making about Health Conditions
3.3. Part II: Focus Group
Participation and Outcomes
4. Discussion
4.1. Health Condition Management
4.2. Written Euthanasia Protocols
4.3. Logistical Factors
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Q# | Question Text | Response Options |
---|---|---|
2.1 | What is your age? | Text box provided |
2.2 | What is your gender? | Male Female Other Prefer not to answer |
2.3 | Approximately how long have you worked with dairy cattle as a veterinarian? | Text box provided |
2.4 | How many dairy facilities do you serve as the primary veterinarian? | Text box provided |
2.5 | Please provide the range of the number of adult cows (lactating and dry) on the dairy facilities where you serve as a veterinarian. | Text box provided |
2.6 | Please provide the range of the number of heifers and calves on the dairy facilities where you serve as a veterinarian. | Text box provided |
2.7 | With which of the following cattle groups do you currently work? (select all that apply) | Pre-weaned calves Weaned heifers Mature cows Bulls |
2.8 | In the past 12 months, have you euthanized any dairy cattle? | Yes No |
If yes → Q2.9: In the past 12 months, which groups of dairy cattle have you euthanized? (select all that apply) | Dairy bulls or dairy yearling bulls Dairy steers/beef Pre-weaned calves (calves still on milk) Weaned heifers Adult cows | |
2.10 | Do you perform the majority of euthanasia on the dairy facility where you serve as the veterinarian? | I do Someone else It depends on the facility, please explain: Text box provided |
If someone else → Q2. 11: If someone else performs most euthanasia, what is this person’s role? | Farm owner Farm manager Animal caretaker/employee Renderer Other, please specify: Text box provided | |
2.12 | On most dairy facilities where you serve as veterinarian, who makes the decision to euthanize an animal? | I do Someone else It depends on the facility, please explain: Text box provided |
If someone else → Q2.13: If someone else makes the decision to euthanize, what is this person’s role? | Farm owner Farm manager Animal caretaker/employee It depends on the facility, please explain: Text box provided | |
2.14 | Do most dairy facilities where you serve as the veterinarian have a written protocol for dairy cattle euthanasia? | Yes No |
2.15 | In your role as the facility’s veterinarian, were you involved in making the euthanasia protocol? | Yes No |
2.16 | In the past 12 months, how often did your clients consult you before euthanizing dairy cattle? | Always/every case Often/most cases Sometimes/a few cases Never/no cases |
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Q# | Question |
---|---|
Q1 | What comes to mind when you think about euthanizing animals on-farm? |
Q2 | What, if any, are the benefits of euthanizing animals on-farm? |
Q3 | What, if any, are the drawbacks to euthanizing animals on-farm? |
Q4 | When do you know it is the right time to euthanize an animal? |
Q5 | When do you know it is NOT the right time to euthanize an animal? |
Q6 | What are the main reasons why you would delay euthanasia? |
Q7 | What are the main reasons why you would NOT perform euthanasia? |
Q8 | What other factors might you consider when making the decision to euthanize animals on-farm? |
Condition 1 | Euthanize Immediately (%) | Treat and Monitor for Signs of Improvement (%) | Cull/Sell for Beef (%) | Not Applicable (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Cow (n = 60) | ||||
Bloat | 1.67 | 95.0 | - | 3.33 |
Cancer eye | 15.0 | 40.0 | 33.3 | 11.7 |
Calving complications 1 | 1.69 | 94.9 | 3.39 | - |
Diarrhea 2 | - | 98.3 | - | 1.67 |
Johne’s disease | - | 5.00 | 93.3 | 1.67 |
Ketosis/Milk fever | - | 100 | - | - |
Lameness, severe 3 | 11.7 | 61.7 | 26.7 | - |
Lymphoma 4 | 41.0 | 1.64 | 50.8 | 6.56 |
Nervous system disorders 5 | 29.5 | 67.2 | 3.28 | - |
Non-ambulatory/Downer | 54.1 | 45.9 | - | - |
Pneumonia | - | 96.7 | 1.64 | 1.64 |
Toxic mastitis | - | 95.1 | 4.92 | - |
Traumatic injury | 27.9 | 72.1 | - | - |
Weaned Heifers (n = 46) | ||||
Bloat | - | 97.8 | 2.17 | - |
Diarrhea | - | 95.7 | 4.35 | - |
Joint infection | 13.0 | 65.2 | 19.6 | 2.17 |
Lameness, severe | 23.9 | 60.9 | 15.2 | - |
Navel/Umbilical infection | - | 100 | - | - |
Nervous system disorder | 17.4 | 82.6 | - | - |
Non-ambulatory/Downer | 58.7 | 41.3 | - | - |
Pneumonia | - | 100 | - | - |
Traumatic injury | 34.8 | 63.0 | - | 2.17 |
Pre-weaned Calves (n = 39) | ||||
Bloat | 2.56 | 97.4 | - | - |
Diarrhea | - | 97.5 | - | 2.50 |
Joint infection | 2.56 | 94.9 | 2.56 | - |
Lameness, severe | 20.5 | 79.5 | - | - |
Navel/umbilical infection | - | 100 | - | - |
Nervous system disorder | 18.0 | 82.0 | - | - |
Non-ambulatory/Downer | 53.8 | 46.2 | - | - |
Pneumonia | - | 97.4 | 2.56 | - |
Traumatic injury | 29.0 | 71.0 | - | - |
Themes | % of Discussion | Direct Quotes |
---|---|---|
Logistical Factors | ||
Financial/economical | 10 | “The right time sometimes becomes an economic decision…in lieu of spending money, what are you going to do…” |
Protocols/procedures/guidelines | 8.9 | “…remove the discussion from being in the heat of the moment…have it in advance. So, I do think there is value in protocols and SOPs and decision trees.” |
Client/operation/farm size | 6.5 | “…not so much our larger clients but for a lot of smaller clients, they, I think, have reservations…” |
Carcass disposal | 4.5 | “Depending on methodology, disposal of the carcass can be difficult. If the vet has to use barbiturates…then they have to bury…or incinerate, which is cost prohibitive.” |
Time/labor/space | 3.1 | “…from the allocation of labor resources [standpoint]…down cows are really time consuming, and I think it’s important to make that decision early.” |
Equipment | 2.4 | “With the use of captive bolt you need to be very aware of what your secondary kill step is gonna be. If that’s gonna be a second bolt…if that’s gonna be KCl IV.” |
Ownership | 1.7 | “When the owner is not ready, unfortunately…legally it’s not our right to make the decision.” |
Animal Factors | ||
Health status/condition/disease | 12 | “If you have an animal…diagnosed with an irreversible disease…like for instance Johne’s disease is going to be spreading disease everywhere…those are things we definitely…use as criteria to euthanize.” |
Animal welfare/wellbeing | 12 | “…[euthanasia] can improve welfare and does improve welfare, particularly so we’re not having to move those animals.” |
Improvement | 5.3 | “It’s a strong judgement issue, but to actually see an animal progress…and how far they’ve improved…” |
Slaughter eligibility | 1.9 | “Some cows that are not fit for transport go to slaughter anyway. So, euthanasia at the farm, to me, helps with welfare of these animals.” |
Herd impact | 1.7 | “If her last thing she can do to contribute to the herd is to find out why…did she get that way...that may be her lasting benefit—you didn’t make any money…but [she] contributes to that not happening again.” |
Human Factors | ||
Emotions/psychology | 14 | “…with that comes the compassion fatigue and emotional stress and we see that there is benefit in dissociating…” |
Education/training | 7.2 | “...training comes into it from a decision-making perspective, looking at making that decision timely.” |
Human safety/food safety | 6.0 | “…we know it’s not the right time to euthanize if it can’t be done humanely and safely…for safety of humans.” |
Public/client perception | 3.1 | “…who is going to see [animals down and sick and visibly in discomfort] and who is then going to potentially share it with others and make that seem like that’s a norm when I don’t think it necessarily is.” |
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Wagner, B.K.; Cramer, M.C.; Fowler, H.N.; Varnell, H.L.; Dietsch, A.M.; Proudfoot, K.L.; Shearer, J.; Correa, M.; Pairis-Garcia, M.D. Determination of Dairy Cattle Euthanasia Criteria and Analysis of Barriers to Humane Euthanasia in the United States: The Veterinarian Perspective. Animals 2020, 10, 1051. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10061051
Wagner BK, Cramer MC, Fowler HN, Varnell HL, Dietsch AM, Proudfoot KL, Shearer J, Correa M, Pairis-Garcia MD. Determination of Dairy Cattle Euthanasia Criteria and Analysis of Barriers to Humane Euthanasia in the United States: The Veterinarian Perspective. Animals. 2020; 10(6):1051. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10061051
Chicago/Turabian StyleWagner, Brooklyn K., Mary Caitlin Cramer, Heather N. Fowler, Hannah L. Varnell, Alia M. Dietsch, Kathryn L. Proudfoot, Jan Shearer, Maria Correa, and Monique D. Pairis-Garcia. 2020. "Determination of Dairy Cattle Euthanasia Criteria and Analysis of Barriers to Humane Euthanasia in the United States: The Veterinarian Perspective" Animals 10, no. 6: 1051. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10061051