Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Nitrous oxide as a humane method for piglet euthanasia: Behavior and electroencephalography (EEG).

Jean-Loup Rault1, Nikki Kells2, Craig Johnson2

  • 1Animal Welfare Science Centre, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.

Physiology & Behavior
|July 2, 2015
PubMed
Summary

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Reevaluating the Use of Race/Ethnicity in the MESA Risk Score.

Journal of the American Heart Association·2026
Same author

Multimodal animal health monitoring in extensive livestock production systems.

Frontiers in veterinary science·2026
Same author

Interpretable decoding of cell fate from a snapshot of combinatorial signaling.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

PsittaWel: A welfare assessment tool for companion parrots.

Animal welfare (South Mimms, England)·2026
Same author

Predictors of treatment outcome in a residential program for binge-eating spectrum disorders.

Eating disorders·2026
Same author

The virus entry inhibitor ARN-75039 provides therapeutic protection against Lassa virus infection in guinea pigs.

Science translational medicine·2026

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a less aversive gas for piglet euthanasia than carbon dioxide (CO2). High concentrations of N2O can effectively and humanely euthanize piglets, addressing welfare concerns.

Area of Science:

  • Veterinary Medicine
  • Animal Welfare Science
  • Anesthesiology

Background:

  • Current piglet euthanasia methods face public scrutiny for suboptimal welfare. Blunt force trauma is effective but visually unappealing, while carbon dioxide (CO2) is criticized for being aversive.
  • There is a critical need for humane and ethically acceptable methods for piglet euthanasia to improve animal welfare standards.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the aversiveness of inhaling nitrous oxide (N2O), also known as laughing gas, from the piglet's perspective using an approach-avoidance test.
  • To validate the humaneness of N2O for inducing loss of consciousness in piglets through electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring.

Main Methods:

  • Piglets were exposed to varying concentrations of N2O and CO2 in controlled chamber tests, assessing approach-avoidance behaviors and time to recumbency.
Keywords:
AversiveCarbon dioxideDeathGasSwineWelfare

Related Experiment Videos

  • Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to measure the time to achieve an isoelectric state (loss of brain activity) at different gas concentrations.
  • Gas mixtures included N2O/air (90%:10% or '90 N'), N2O/oxygen/air (60%:30%:10% or '60 N'), and CO2/air (90%:10% or '90 C').

    • Main Results:

    • Piglets avoided chambers with higher N2O concentrations, indicating aversive properties, though less so than CO2. At 90% N2O ('90 N'), piglets became unresponsive within 5 minutes.
    • Higher concentrations of both N2O and CO2 led to quicker termination of tests due to piglet responses. Flailing behavior correlated with increasing CO2 concentrations but not N2O.
    • Experiment 3 demonstrated that 90% N2O ('90 N') and 90% CO2 ('90 C') induced isoelectric EEG in 71 and 59 seconds, respectively, confirming rapid loss of consciousness.

    Conclusions:

    • Nitrous oxide (N2O) is significantly less aversive to piglets compared to carbon dioxide (CO2).
    • A concentration of 90% N2O is effective in inducing rapid loss of consciousness and can be considered a humane method for piglet euthanasia.
    • These findings offer a more ethically acceptable alternative for piglet euthanasia, addressing public concerns regarding animal welfare.