Project Number: 3602-32000-009-15
Project Type: Reimbursable

Start Date: Nov 15, 2010
End Date: Jun 30, 2012

Objective:
The objective of this project is to validate a humane method of pig euthanasia.

Approach:
Previous research thus far has euthanazied animals and used measures of the stress response and the amount of time to unconsciousness as validation of humaneness. However, a better method is to measure how aversive the pig perceives the procedure. Thus we will allow the pig to choose between a chamber with a reward and a noxious gas, or a chamber with no reward. If the pig truly has no aversion to the gas then it will stay in the gas chamber until it looses consciousness and is euthanazied.