A Comparison of the Effect of Blast Chilling and Electrical Stunning on Some Hemolymph Parameters in Red Swamp Crayfish (<i>Procambarus Clarkii</i>)

Atanasoff, Alexander; Seçer, Faik Sertel; Zapryanova, D.; Ürkü, Çiğdem; Çağiltay, Ferhat

doi:10.2478/trser-2022-0005

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…On the other hand, Fregin and Bickmeyer (2016) analysed changes in neuronal activity in lobsters in response to mechanical stimulation to different body parts (antenna and eyes, telson, walking legs) following anaesthesia and various stunning methods, but made no simultaneous measures of behavioural indicators of sensibility. Other studies also divide into those that used behavioural indicators alone (Roth and Grimsbø, 2016;Weineck et al, 2018;Astanasoff et al, 2022) and those that used only neurological methods (Albalat et al, 2022;Neil et al, 2022;Kells et al, 2023) (Table 1). Therefore, there is a need for a more comprehensive and integrated approach in which neuronal activity equivalent to the vertebrate EEG, which could include sensory evoked potentials to somatosensory and visual stimuli (Horridge and Sandeman, 1964;Gregory and Wotton, 1987;Hjelmstedt et al, 2022), is correlated with clearly observable body movements and other behavioural measures.…”

Section: Behavioural Indicators Of Insensibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards the humane slaughter of decapod crustaceans: identifying the most effective indicators of insensibility following electrical stunning

Neil,

Putyora,

Albalat

2024

Front. Anim. Sci.

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Decapod crustaceans provide a valuable food source worldwide, both through wild capture and captive rearing. They are also used extensively in scientific research, both as subjects for the investigation of basic biological processes and as model organisms for the detection of environmental changes. There is now an increasing acceptance that decapod crustaceans are sentient, and legislation is being introduced in numerous countries to ensure crustacean welfare when they are harvested or held captive. Moreover, methods for the humane slaughter of these animals are being developed, and of these electrical stunning is a prime candidate. Optimisation of electrical stunning is underway for a range of commercially-exploited or scientifically-important species, and the present study contributes to that process by examining further crab (Carcinus maenas) and lobster (Homarus gammarus) species using a rigorous neurophysiological approach. By recording nerve activity in both the central and peripheral nervous systems, we have found that electrical stunning with a standard commercial instrument arrests nerve activity in both these species at all levels: sensory, motor and central, rendering the animals neurologically insensible. This methodology is the most direct and effective way to establish if insensibility is successfully achieved. However, ultimately the routine monitoring of effective stunning in commercial and laboratory settings will have to depend on simple, yet reliable physiological or behavioural indicators, following their calibration against neurological methods. Monitoring heartbeat is used widely to establish metabolic activity, locomotory performance, agonistic interactions and responses to environmental conditions. We have therefore assessed the potential to use cardiac activity as an indicator for the state of sensibility. We recorded the heartbeat in both C. maenas and H. gammarus before and after electrical stunning, but find that in many cases even though nerve activity has ceased both centrally and peripherally, cardiac activity actually continues (though at a reduced rate) for a substantial time (>1h). The heartbeat is therefore not a reliable indicator of the state of sensibility, making it an unsuitable indicator of effective stunning. Possible reasons for these findings, and ways to validate behavioural measures that may be more appropriate for routinely establishing effective electrical stunning, are discussed.

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