Euthanasia of mink (Mustela vison) by means of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen (N2)

2000 Report of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia

“…73 In studies of mink, high concentrations of CO 2 would kill them quickly, but a 70% CO 2 concentration induced loss of consciousness without killing them. 80 Some burrowing animals, such as rabbits of the species Oryctolagus, also have prolonged survival times when exposed to CO 2 . 81 Some burrowing and diving animals have physiologic mechanisms for coping with hypercapnia.…”

“…88 These findings were similar to those for rabbits 89 and mink. 80,90 With N 2 flowing at a rate of 39% of chamber volume per minute, rats collapsed in approximately 3 minutes and stopped breathing in 5 to 6 minutes. Regardless of flow rate, signs of panic and distress were evident before the rats collapsed and died.…”

“…In a study by Ramsey and Eilmann, 94 8% CO caused guinea pigs to collapse in 40 seconds to 2 minutes, and death occurred within 6 minutes. Carbon monoxide has been used to euthanatize mink 80,90 and chinchillas. These animals collapsed in 1 minute, breathing ceased in 2 minutes, and the heart stopped beating in 5 to 7 minutes.…”

Effects of flow rate, gas type and disease status on the welfare of sucking and weaned pigs during gas euthanasia

“…During gas euthanasia, gasping will become slower and shallow until breathing finally ceases. In this study, RA was the last movement by the pig that was observed, which is consistent with observations conducted using mink, perhaps indicating the death process during gas euthanasia is conserved across mammals (Hansen et al 1991), and warrants further study. Surprisingly, even though latencies to LC and LLM were longer in G-CO 2 relative to P-CO 2 , differences were not observed in RA.…”

Sedation of Mink (<i>Neovison vison</i>) for Electrophysiological Procedures

“…Essential here is that euthanasia occurs with minimal pain and distress. Pain is that sensation that results from nerve impulses reaching the cerebral cortex via ascending neural pathways [2] Pain can be experienced only when the cerebral cortex and subcortical structures are functional [2] [10]. Therefore, the functional state of brain is essential for animal wellbeing during euthanasia.…”