Euthanizing single or pairs of sick, injured or weak piglets with nitrogen foam : effects on animal welfare
In pig production, it is inevitable having to euthanize some piglets due to sickness, injuries or weakness. The methods available for euthanizing piglets that are 0-42 days are blunt force trauma and captive bolt followed by sticking. These are physical methods that could induce psychological stress...
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| Formato: | H2 |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés sueco |
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SLU/Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231)
2021
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| Materias: |
| _version_ | 1855572838967148544 |
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| author | Nilsson, Emma |
| author_browse | Nilsson, Emma |
| author_facet | Nilsson, Emma |
| author_sort | Nilsson, Emma |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | In pig production, it is inevitable having to euthanize some piglets due to sickness, injuries or weakness. The methods available for euthanizing piglets that are 0-42 days are blunt force trauma and captive bolt followed by sticking. These are physical methods that could induce psychological stress in the farmer and prolong the piglets’ suffering if the farmer is reluctant to use the available method. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate the effectiveness of nitrogen foam for euthanizing single and pairs of piglets that are sick, injured or weak. In addition, welfare aspects were assessed to evaluate if nitrogen foam could be a more humane euthanasia method compared to traditional methods. A total of 21 crossbreed piglets of Yorkshire*Dutch Yorkshire dams and Hampshire sires were used in this study. Age ranged from 4–38 days with a weight ranging from 1–12 kg. The piglets were either euthanized individually (treatment 1) or with a companion piglet (treatment 2). The initial response, when exposed to the foam, was for piglets to flinch and/or retreat, followed by exploration of the foam. The exploration of foam at the beginning of foam production indicated that the piglets were not fearful of the foam itself and that the nitrogen gas did not cause discomfort. The explorative behaviour decreased as foam levels began to increase and instead the piglets started to avoid the foam by raising their snout above foam level. When the piglets began to be covered with foam, escape attempts increased. There was a significant difference in vocalisation between treatments, where single piglets vocalized more than pairs, but no differences were seen in activity or escape attempts. All piglets were successfully euthanized and no reflexes or regaining of consciousness was seen at observations after 12 minutes of being submerged in foam. Approximately half of the piglets had no heartbeats when taken out of the box and presumed to be already dead. The results prove nitrogen foam to effectively euthanize pairs of piglets and induce moderate levels of aversive behaviours. Nitrogen foam euthanasia could be an important alternative for on-farm euthanasia, especially for small piglets over 14 days. However, research on how the aversiveness towards the foam can be reduced is needed before the method can be recommended for on-farm use. |
| format | H2 |
| id | RepoSLU17058 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Inglés swe |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | SLU/Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231) |
| publisherStr | SLU/Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231) |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU170582021-08-21T01:02:58Z Euthanizing single or pairs of sick, injured or weak piglets with nitrogen foam : effects on animal welfare Avlivning av en eller två sjuka, skadade eller svaga smågrisar med kvävgasskum : effekt på djurvälfärd Nilsson, Emma Euthanasia animal welfare anoxia controlled atmosphere nitrogen behaviour In pig production, it is inevitable having to euthanize some piglets due to sickness, injuries or weakness. The methods available for euthanizing piglets that are 0-42 days are blunt force trauma and captive bolt followed by sticking. These are physical methods that could induce psychological stress in the farmer and prolong the piglets’ suffering if the farmer is reluctant to use the available method. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate the effectiveness of nitrogen foam for euthanizing single and pairs of piglets that are sick, injured or weak. In addition, welfare aspects were assessed to evaluate if nitrogen foam could be a more humane euthanasia method compared to traditional methods. A total of 21 crossbreed piglets of Yorkshire*Dutch Yorkshire dams and Hampshire sires were used in this study. Age ranged from 4–38 days with a weight ranging from 1–12 kg. The piglets were either euthanized individually (treatment 1) or with a companion piglet (treatment 2). The initial response, when exposed to the foam, was for piglets to flinch and/or retreat, followed by exploration of the foam. The exploration of foam at the beginning of foam production indicated that the piglets were not fearful of the foam itself and that the nitrogen gas did not cause discomfort. The explorative behaviour decreased as foam levels began to increase and instead the piglets started to avoid the foam by raising their snout above foam level. When the piglets began to be covered with foam, escape attempts increased. There was a significant difference in vocalisation between treatments, where single piglets vocalized more than pairs, but no differences were seen in activity or escape attempts. All piglets were successfully euthanized and no reflexes or regaining of consciousness was seen at observations after 12 minutes of being submerged in foam. Approximately half of the piglets had no heartbeats when taken out of the box and presumed to be already dead. The results prove nitrogen foam to effectively euthanize pairs of piglets and induce moderate levels of aversive behaviours. Nitrogen foam euthanasia could be an important alternative for on-farm euthanasia, especially for small piglets over 14 days. However, research on how the aversiveness towards the foam can be reduced is needed before the method can be recommended for on-farm use. Inom grisproduktionen är det oundvikligt att behöva avliva vissa smågrisar på grund av sjukdom, skador eller svaghet. Metoderna som används är slag mot bakhuvudet och penetrerande bultpistol följt av avblodning, vilket är fysiska metoder som kan framkalla psykologisk stress hos utövaren och även kan förlänga smågrisarnas lidande om djurskötaren är ovillig att använda de tillgängliga metoderna. Syftet med avhandlingen var att utvärdera effektiviteten av kvävgasskum för att avliva sjuka, skadade eller svaga smågrisar ensamma eller i par. Välfärdsaspekter bedömdes för att utvärdera om kvävgasskum kan vara en mer human avlivningsmetod jämfört med traditionella metoder. Totalt användes 21 korsningsgrisar av YorkshirexDutch Yorkshiresuggor och Hampshiregaltar i studien. Åldern varierade mellan 4–38 dagar med en vikt mellan 1–12 kg. Smågrisarna avlivades antingen individuellt (behandling 1) eller med en annan artfrände (behandling 2). Initialt ryckte smågrisarna till och/eller backade när skumgeneratorn startade, följt av undersökning av skummet med trynet. Utforskningen av skummet i början av skumproduktionen indikerade att smågrisarna inte var rädda för själva skummet och att kvävgasen inte orsakade obehag. Det utforskande beteendet minskade när skumnivåerna ökade och i stället började smågrisarna att undvika skummet genom att höja trynet över skumnivån. När smågrisarna började täckas med skum ökade flyktförsöken. Det var en signifikant skillnad i vokalisering mellan behandlingar där ensamma smågrisar grymtade mer än par, men inga skillnader sågs i aktivitet eller flyktförsök. Alla smågrisar avlivades framgångsrikt och inga reflexer eller andra tecken på medvetande sågs vid kontroll efter att smågrisarna varit i täckta av skum i 12 minuter. Ungefär hälften av smågrisarna hade inga hjärtslag efter de togs ut ur boxen och var antagligen redan döda. Resultaten visar att kvävgasskum effektivt avlivar par av smågrisar och framkallar måttligt aversivt beteende. Avlivning med kvävgasskum kan vara ett möjligt alternativ till traditionella metoder på gårdar, särskilt för små smågrisar över 14 dagar. Dock krävs studier på hur grisarnas aversiva reaktion på skummet kan minskas innan metoden kan rekommenderas för användning på gårdar. SLU/Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231) 2021 H2 eng swe https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/17058/ |
| spellingShingle | Euthanasia animal welfare anoxia controlled atmosphere nitrogen behaviour Nilsson, Emma Euthanizing single or pairs of sick, injured or weak piglets with nitrogen foam : effects on animal welfare |
| title | Euthanizing single or pairs of sick, injured or weak piglets with nitrogen foam : effects on animal welfare |
| title_full | Euthanizing single or pairs of sick, injured or weak piglets with nitrogen foam : effects on animal welfare |
| title_fullStr | Euthanizing single or pairs of sick, injured or weak piglets with nitrogen foam : effects on animal welfare |
| title_full_unstemmed | Euthanizing single or pairs of sick, injured or weak piglets with nitrogen foam : effects on animal welfare |
| title_short | Euthanizing single or pairs of sick, injured or weak piglets with nitrogen foam : effects on animal welfare |
| title_sort | euthanizing single or pairs of sick, injured or weak piglets with nitrogen foam : effects on animal welfare |
| topic | Euthanasia animal welfare anoxia controlled atmosphere nitrogen behaviour |