Validation of a Portable Pneumatic Penetrating Captive Bolt as a Single-Step Method for Use in Animal Health Emergencies Requiring Mass Depopulation of Cattle

This poster was presented at the 2017 EDEN Annual Meeting in Moline, IL. ABSTRACT: Currently, the only single-step methods of euthanasia approved for use in cattle are gunshot or barbiturate overdose, both of which are impractical for mass depopulation scenarios. Penetrating captive bolt (PCB) is a third option; however, death is not assured by the use of PCB alone. For this reason, the AVMA Euthanasia Guidelines recommend the use of a secondary or adjunctive step to assure death whenever PCB is used. In the event of a national livestock health emergency requiring the mass depopulation of thousands of cattle in a large feedlot or dairy, a method that will assure the efficient and humane death of animals is needed. One of the methods proposed by USDA-APHIS is a pneumatically powered penetrating captive bolt with low-pressure air channel pithing through the bolt (AP-PCB). This device was specifically designed to cause sufficient brain damage to alleviate the need for a secondary step to assure death. Unlike the PCB used in packing plants which penetrate only about 3-3 ¼ inches into the brain, the bolt of the AP-PCB penetrates 5.5 to 6 inches deep. This increases its potential to make contact with deeper structures within the brain, such as those that make up the brain stem (thalamus, hypothalamus, midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata). A study to validate this device proved the AP-PCB to be highly effective as a single-step method (i.e. not requiring a secondary method to assure death) for the euthanasia of cattle. When accurately placed over the correct anatomical site, use of this device alone caused an immediate loss of consciousness followed by death in all (n = 66) animals studied. Mean time to death following use of the AP-PCB was an average of 7.3 minutes post shot. Brain trauma was assessed by 1) a subjective estimate of the amount of physical damage to the brain, 2) by a visual estimation of the degree of hemorrhage within the cranial vault, and 3…