Lectures and seminars Webinar: "Providing a good death to lab animals: the use of CO2 and barriers to refinements"

15-06-2021 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Add to iCal
Online Zoom

The aim of these CPD webinars (Continuing professional development) is to follow the legal requirements for maintenance and demonstration of competence in laboratory animal science, and to facilitate the implementations of the 3R’s in routine animal work.

"Providing a good death to lab animals: the use of CO2 and barriers to refinements"

Abstract

In this presentation we will review the scientific evidence regarding the humaneness of CO2 as a euthanasia agent, discussing the welfare concerns associated with the use of this agent and alternative procedures. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of different scientific approaches used to assess euthanasia methods, what qualifies as ‘refinement’, and what criteria can be used to decide if the magnitude of refinement is sufficient to merit a change in procedure.

We also share data on the attitudes of lab animal workers and researchers regarding these methods, and perceived barriers to the adoption of refinements. We conclude that CO2 induces anxiety and air hunger at lower concentrations and pain and panic at higher concentrations making it unsuitable as a euthanasia agent. Other methods, including the use of halogenated anesthetics, are also associated with welfare concerns but can be considered a refinement over the use of CO2 for killing rodents. Finally, many researchers, veterinarians, and technicians recognize the welfare issues associated with CO2, and the availability of refinements, but perceive important barriers to the adoption of these refinements including a lack of institutional resources and support.

Speaker

Prof. Daniel Weary, Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Canada. Dan's research focuses on developing behavioral measures for the objective assessment of animal welfare and developing practical methods of improving the welfare of animals on farms and in the lab. His scientific work on laboratory animals has focused on euthanasia, especially on developing humane methods for euthanasia of rats and mice.

Registration

Register here (by June 13).

Contact

E-mail: las-edu@km.ki.se