The Future of Humane Killing of Animals

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2015) | Viewed by 17451

Special Issue Editor

Universities Federation for Animal Welfare & The Humane Slaughter Association, The Old School, Brewhouse Hill, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire AL4 8AN, UK
Interests: laboratory animal welfare; rodent welfare; anaesthesia; bioethics; humane killing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Humans deliberately kill animals for numerous reasons: to end their suffering, for scientific research, to control invasive or pest species; to provide food for humans or other animals; for sport etc. It is widely believed that if humans kill animals the methods used for killing them should be humane. Indeed, the killing of animals is often termed euthanasia (“a good death”). In practice however, there is far less consensus on which methods for killing animals are actually the most humane.

Original contributions are invited which address scientific and/or ethical issues concerning the welfare of animals during killing including (but not limited to):

  • research which assesses the humaneness of killing techniques for animals.;
  • species-specific considerations in the selection of killing techniques;
  • development of novel, more humane killing methods;
  • moral/philosophical considerations in the selection or ethical assessment of killing techniques;
  • sociological/psychological influences on the choice or perception of killing techniques;
  • conflicts between human interests and the welfare of animals at the time of killing – cost/convenience, religious slaughter, slaughter of animals for disease prevention etc.

Dr. Huw Golledge
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.


Keywords

  • euthanasia
  • killing
  • humane killing
  • death
  • slaughter
  • depopulation

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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Article
Evaluation of Low versus High Volume per Minute Displacement CO2 Methods of Euthanasia in the Induction and Duration of Panic-Associated Behavior and Physiology
by Debra L. Hickman, Stephanie D. Fitz, Cristian S. Bernabe, Izabela F. Caliman, Melissa M. Haulcomb, Lauren M. Federici, Anantha Shekhar and Philip L. Johnson
Animals 2016, 6(8), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani6080045 - 02 Aug 2016
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 5469
Abstract
Current recommendations for the use of CO 2 as a euthanasia agent for rats require the use of gradual fill protocols (such as 10% to 30% volume displacement per minute) in order to render the animal insensible prior to exposure to levels of [...] Read more.
Current recommendations for the use of CO 2 as a euthanasia agent for rats require the use of gradual fill protocols (such as 10% to 30% volume displacement per minute) in order to render the animal insensible prior to exposure to levels of CO 2 that are associated with pain. However, exposing rats to CO 2 , concentrations as low as 7% CO 2 are reported to cause distress and 10%–20% CO 2 induces panic-associated behavior and physiology, but loss of consciousness does not occur until CO 2 concentrations are at least 40%. This suggests that the use of the currently recommended low flow volume per minute displacement rates create a situation where rats are exposed to concentrations of CO 2 that induce anxiety, panic, and distress for prolonged periods of time. This study first characterized the response of male rats exposed to normoxic 20% CO 2 for a prolonged period of time as compared to room air controls. It demonstrated that rats exposed to this experimental condition displayed clinical signs consistent with significantly increased panic-associated behavior and physiology during CO 2 exposure. When atmospheric air was then again delivered, there was a robust increase in respiration rate that coincided with rats moving to the air intake. The rats exposed to CO 2 also displayed behaviors consistent with increased anxiety in the behavioral testing that followed the exposure. Next, this study assessed the behavioral and physiologic responses of rats that were euthanized with 100% CO 2 infused at 10%, 30%, or 100% volume per minute displacement rates. Analysis of the concentrations of CO 2 and oxygen in the euthanasia chamber and the behavioral responses of the rats suggest that the use of the very low flow volume per minute displacement rate (10%) may prolong the duration of panicogenic ranges of ambient CO 2 , while the use of the higher flow volume per minute displacement rate (100%) increases agitation. Therefore, of the volume displacement per minute rates evaluated, this study suggests that 30% minimizes the potential pain and distress experienced by the animal. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Future of Humane Killing of Animals)
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Review

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Review
A Review of Different Stunning Methods for Poultry—Animal Welfare Aspects (Stunning Methods for Poultry)
by Charlotte Berg and Mohan Raj
Animals 2015, 5(4), 1207-1219; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani5040407 - 30 Nov 2015
Cited by 36 | Viewed by 11287
Abstract
Electrical water bath stunning is the most commonly used method for poultry stunning prior to slaughter, but has been questioned on animal welfare and product quality grounds. Controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS) methods, involving a variety of gas mixtures, have become increasingly common, at [...] Read more.
Electrical water bath stunning is the most commonly used method for poultry stunning prior to slaughter, but has been questioned on animal welfare and product quality grounds. Controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS) methods, involving a variety of gas mixtures, have become increasingly common, at least in Europe. CAS methods have been perceived as an improvement from an animal welfare perspective, partly because birds can be stunned without prior shackling, and are generally considered to result in improved product quality compared to water bath stunning. However, there would still be an interest in alternative stunning methods especially for small to medium size poultry slaughterhouses. This review presents an overview of the modes of action and the technical aspects of poultry stunning methods, including novel and emerging stunning technologies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Future of Humane Killing of Animals)
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