Welfare impacts of controlled atmosphere methods for stunning or killing animals

Universities Federation for Animal Welfare and Humane Slaughter Association

June 29^th-30^th 2017

Southern England, UK

Exposure to gases, other inhaled agents such as anaesthetics, or low atmospheric pressures are all used to kill a range of animals including farmed livestock, laboratory animals and pests or invasive species. There is an ongoing debate as to whether these controlled atmosphere methods are humane.

This meeting will consider the animal welfare impacts of various controlled atmosphere stunning or killing techniques upon a range of species and in different scenarios. The meeting aims to facilitate a cross-disciplinary examination of the welfare impacts of the various methods, as well as to map out future research priorities.

The meeting will feature invited talks from a range of expert scientists as well as submitted talks on the latest research developments.

Proposed Sessions include:

1. Controlled atmosphere stunning and killing: use in different scenarios and for different species.
2. Respiratory related experiences: What is the potential for various methods to cause respiratory discomfort in animals before loss of consciousness and what evidence do we currently have to evaluate such experiences?
3. Other negative experiences: What is the potential for various methods to cause other negative experiences including panic/anxiety, pain, nausea, dysphoria before loss of consciousness, and what evidence do we currently have to evaluate such experiences?
4. Practical challenges and considerations: What are the practical barriers to the use of more welfare-friendly controlled atmosphere methods in each field and how might we overcome these? How might we refine current methods to make them as humane as possible?
5. Future research priorities: What are the current knowledge gaps about welfare impacts of controlled atmosphere methods, what kind of evidence would be acceptable to fill those gaps, and what specific research is needed to achieve improvements in current practice?

Registration

Registration is £295 for two days including lunch and tea & coffee.

Please visit www.ufaw.org.uk/cas2017 for further details.

Please contact ufaw@ufaw.org.uk for further details or to register.