GUIDELINES FOR THE EUTHANASIA OF LIVESTOCK

I t is probably safe to say that most livestock producers have experienced situations where an animal has been injured, diseased, or disabled, and the prognosis for recovery is hopeless. In these cases, euthanasia may be appropriate to prevent unnecessary pain and/or suffering.

What is euthanasia? As defined, euthanasia is the intentional causing of a painless and easy death to a patient suffering from an incurable or painful disease or injury. As it applies to livestock, there are various techniques used for inducing euthanasia. All fall under one of the following categories:

• Physical disruption of brain activity caused by direct destruction of brain tissue.
• Drugs that directly depress the central nervous system and induce death by hypoxia (lack of oxygen).
• Methods that induce unconsciousness followed by exsanguination (massive blood loss).

Veterinarians are trained in these procedures, but it is not always possible for a veterinarian to be available for on-ranch or in-transit euthanasia procedures. If this is the case, the producer will have to decide which method to use based on consideration of:

• Human safety: Obviously, use of a firearm can be dangerous.
• Animal welfare: Use the method that is safest for both the human and the animal.
• Restraint: May be required with use of captive bolt or administration of a drug.
• Practicality: The method must be practical. Producers may not have legal access to the drugs a veterinarian would use.
• Skill: The placement of the captive bolt or a knife used for exsanguination is essential for proper euthanasia technique.
• Cost: Some techniques are more expensive than others considering the cost of the equipment, such as a firearm or captive bolt.
• Aesthetics: Certain techniques, such as drug overdose, may seem to be less objectionable to one that involves blood loss. Regardless of the method, many techniques will result in involuntary movements of the animal, which may be misinterpreted as a voluntary response to pain.

The basis of this article is from information I recently received from Dr. Caroline Stull, Animal Welfare Program, UC Cooperative Extension Veterinary Medicine Extension at Davis. She provided me with four publications addressing this topic. They include: On-Farm Euthanasia of Swine, The Practical Euthanasia of Cattle, Emergency Euthanasia of Sheep and Goats, Emergency Euthanasia of Horses.

These are the first publications of this type I've seen. While not extensive, they do provide additional information to this article, especially as it relates to the techniques used for the various species listed. If you would like additional information, let me know.

This is a topic that is rarely presented in our newsletters, but as anyone who works with animals knows, the reality is that animals can be injured, get sick, grow old, and become disabled. There is a point at which euthanasia is appropriate to humanely end the animal's life. As producers, it is good to know how this should be accomplished.

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