%0 Journal Article
%T The Use of a Non-Penetrating Captive Bolt for the Euthanasia of Neonate Piglets
%A Charles W. Mason
%A Jeff A. Lines
%A Stephen B. Wotton
%A Toby G. Knowles
%J Archive of "Animals : an Open Access Journal from MDPI".
%D 2018
%R 10.3390/ani8040048
%X The humane destruction of newborn piglets (neonates), when required, is an issue faced by farmers and producers. The application of blunt force trauma, either through swinging the animal against a wall, or hitting it with a weighted object, is a stressful procedure for the stock person and has implications for the animal in terms of welfare, instantaneous effect and reproducibility. The United Kingdom government funded this project to find a single application method that could be used on farms that would produce an immediate kill with these animals. This project demonstrates that the use of a mechanical captive bolt device, that does not enter the head, delivers sufficient energy when applied to the head of a piglet to immediately destroy the brain leading to the death of the animal. This method will improve animal welfare on farms, as well as providing producers with a device that they can be confident will kill the animal without pain, as the brain is destroyed before the animal can perceive a pain nerve impulse
%K animal welfare
%K euthanasia
%K livestock
%K mechanical killing
%K on-farm killing
%K neonate piglets
%U https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5946132/