Comparison of Gaseous and Water-Based Medium-Expansion Foam Depopulation Methods in Cull Sows

The U.S. swine industry is currently inadequately prepared to counteract the increasing threat of high-consequence diseases. Although approved and preferred depopulation guidelines exist, ventilation shutdown (VSD+) is currently the only method being deployed during a state of emergency to depopulat...

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Autores principales: Joshua N. Lorbach, Magnus R. Campler, Brad Youngblood, Morgan B. Farnell, Tariku J. Beyene, Justin Kieffer, Steven J. Moeller, Andréia G. Arruda, Andrew S. Bowman
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: MDPI AG 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/3a2762703b154944aa2581e2388f5803
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Sumario:The U.S. swine industry is currently inadequately prepared to counteract the increasing threat of high-consequence diseases. Although approved and preferred depopulation guidelines exist, ventilation shutdown (VSD+) is currently the only method being deployed during a state of emergency to depopulate large swine populations. However, the permitted use of VSD+ during constrained circumstances has been criticized due to raised swine welfare concerns. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of carbon dioxide gas (CO<sub>2</sub>), nitrogen gas (N<sub>2</sub>), compressed air foam (CAF), compressed nitrogen foam (CAF-N<sub>2</sub>) and aspirated foam (AF) during a 15-min dwell time on adult swine in an emergency depopulation situation. A small-scale trial using 12 sows per depopulation method showed the highest efficiency to induce cessation of movement for AF and CO<sub>2</sub> (186.0 ± 48 vs. 202.0 ± 41, s ± SD). The ease of implementation and safety favored AF for further investigation. A large-scale field study using AF to depopulate 134 sows in modified rendering trailers showed a mean fill time of 103.8 s (SD: 5.0 s) and cessation of movement of 128.0 s (SD: 18.6 s) post filling. All sows were confirmed dead post-treatment for both trials. The implementation of AF in modified rendering trailers may allow for a safe and reliable method that allows for the expedient and mobile depopulation of both small and large numbers of sows during an emergency.