Dossier

Killing on farm

Pigs are emergency killed on the farm for various causes. Reasons for killing on farm are, for example, piglets that are not viable or develop severe and incurable disease that occurs or worsens later in life. In these cases, it is always a case-by-case decision and is therefore referred to as euthanasia. On the other hand, sometimes pigs have to be killed on farm for reasons of animal disease control in order to prevent the spread of infections to other animals or humans. This is a large-scale killing, so the terms depopulation or mass-killing are used here.

Source photo: © FLI

This dossier aims to help Competent Authorities and other stakeholders with issues related to pig welfare in slaughterhouses at the time of stunning and killing.

It is based on EURCAW-Pigs’ Review on euthanasia of suckling piglets on farm. Four relevant key areas and corresponding animal welfare indicators are described to assess pig welfare in the killing process:

Appropriate decision-making in relation to euthanasia.
Handling and moving to the killing point.
Killing process (gas killing methods, physical methods including restraint).
Post mortem inspection of the carcass.

A review on depopulation is expected in the first half of 2023.

Each EURCAW-Pigs dossier is divided in the following 5 items: 'Legislation', ‘Knowledge’, 'Welfare indicators’, 'Training courses' and 'Inspiring examples'.

_{Source photo: ©EURCAW-Pigs}

The legal requirements related to killing on farm can be found in Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009. The Regulation recognises that killing animals may induce pain, fear and distress even under the best available technical conditions. Therefore, any person involved in the stunning or killing of animals should take the necessary measures to avoid pain and minimise distress and suffering during the killing process, considering the best practices in the field.

Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009:

defines the term ‘emergency killing’ as the “[…] killing of animals which are injured or have a disease associated with severe pain or suffering and where there is no other practical possibility to alleviate this pain or suffering […]” { Article 2, lit. d};
states “It is an ethical duty to kill productive animals which are in severe pain where there is no economically viable way to alleviate such pain.” {Recital 12};
requests as general requirement for the killing and related operations that “ animals shall be spared any avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related operations .” {Article 3, Paragraph 1};
states “In the case of emergency killing, the keeper of the animals concerned shall take all the necessary measures to kill the animal as soon as possible.” {Article 19}

EURCAW-Pigs’ Review on euthanasia of suckling piglets on farm describes the requirements in more detail.

To avoid unintended welfare problems, the killing procedure must spare animals any avoidable pain, distress or suffering. This implies that moving animals to the killing point and restraining them for the purpose of stunning and killing must be done without causing undue fear and distress. Operators must affirm death of animals by confirming the absence of vital signs of cardiovascular, respiratory and neuronal functioning. Best practices maximally limit stress during handling and killing processes (see ‘Show more’).

Guidance

EURCAW-Pigs’ Review on euthanasia of suckling piglets on farm suggests improved practises for each of four key areas:

Appropriate decision-making in relation to euthanasia

Animals requiring euthanasia are subjected to a prolonged period of pain and suffering if euthanasia is not carried out at the appropriate time. Regular inspections by the farmer help identify animals with severe, incurable injuries and diseases. By killing them as quickly as possible in an appropriate manner, animals are spared further and avoidable pain and suffering.

Handling and moving piglets to the killing point

Moving animals by trolley is considered as the best option. Effective and gentle handling can be checked by assessing animal movements and behaviour like no slipping and falling, no escape attempts, not being reluctant to move or turning back, no high-pitched vocalisations.

Killing process

During the killing process itself, the potential for pain and fear is linked to the state of consciousness. Consciousness is the capacity to receive, process, and respond to information from the internal and external environment, and thus the ability to feel emotions and be sensible to external stimuli that lead to pain and fear. Therefore, animal-based indicators for the state of consciousness serve to identify the potential for pain and fear in animals during the killing procedure.

Post-mortem inspection of the carcass

The post mortem inspection of the carcass may reveal method application failures as well as a delayed killing of the animal following a prolonged period of pain and suffering before death.

In the next section, welfare indicators are described, helping to confirm death of each animal killed on farm.

Source photo: ©bsi Schwarzenbek

Welfare indicators can be used to facilitate welfare inspections on farms and to identify welfare issues related to the killing process on farms. Farmers must confirm death of each animal killed on farm by checking the absence of vital signs of cardiovascular, respiratory and neuronal functioning. For this purpose, several indicators are described and combined in an indicator factsheet (see ‘Show more’).

Confirmation of death: Immediately after the end of the killing process and before disposal of the carcass, each pig is assessed for each subsequent indicators: body movements, breathing, corneal, palpebral and pain reflexes, heartbeat and pupil size. If there is one of the indicators visible, death cannot be confirmed and corrective measures must be taken.

Note: Indicator factsheet for depopulation is expected in the first half of 2023.

Source photo: ©FLI

In collaboration with national training bodies and national reference centers on animal welfare, EURCAW-Pigs develops training guides for the different welfare topics as standards for national training in EU Member States.

Learning goals

On the subject of euthanasia of suckling piglets on farm:

Knowledge about the intention of the EU-legislation (Protection of animals at the time of killing).
Knowledge about appropriate decision-making in relation to euthanasia: What criteria must a farmer use to make her/his decision to euthanize an animal as soon as possible?
Updated knowledge about approved methods for on farm euthanasia.
Knowledge on key technical parameters to monitor when assessing the equipment used for the different methods for on farm euthanasia.
Knowledge about animal-based indicators to assess the euthanasia process.
Knowledge about possibilities of the visual inspection of the carcass with regard to the killing procedure or prolonged suffering of the animal.
Practical training in communication with farmers during inspection; what can the inspector do to advise and instruct the farmer on how to optimize on-farm killing procedures?

Inspection-driven welfare improvement

Additionally, EURCAW-Pigs provides examples of training plans and materials used in different Member States in English, to the extent possible, and training suggestions for improvement of communication skills and ways to support inspection-driven welfare improvement. This is presented on the training overview page.