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About this document
The 2007 AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia divide euthanatizing agents into three groups: inhalant agents, noninhalant pharmaceutical agents, and physical methods. Within these guidelines, euthanasia is defined as “the act of inducing humane death in an animal.” According to the Web site of the NC3Rs, humane death in an animal is one that “occurs with minimal pain and distress; achieves rapid unconsciousness and death; requires minimum restraint; avoids excitement; is appropriate for the age, species, and health of the animal; minimizes fear and psychological stress in the animal; is reliable, reproducible, irreversible, simple to administer and safe for the operator; and, so far as possible, is aesthetically acceptable for the person(s) involved.” One particular inhalant agent that has been the subject of considerable debate is carbon dioxide. The report from the 2006 Newcastle Consensus Meeting on Carbon Dioxide Euthanasia of Laboratory Animals provides a summary of points by experts on the problems associated with euthanasia using CO2, good practice for CO2 euthanasia, alternative gaseous euthanasia agents, and directions for future research. Additional information on humane endpoints and euthanasia are provided on the AWIC Web site and updated as needed.
This publication contains citations pertinent to the humane euthanasia of animals. It is divided into 8 groups as follows: Aquatic Animals, Birds, Dogs and Cats, General, Livestock, Reptiles, Rodents and Rabbits, Wildlife: Captive and Free Ranging. The sources of information which were published between the years 1995 to October 2007 include peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, theses, annual reports, dissertations, books, monographs, letters, Web pages, reviews, and patents.
Each citation in the bibliography contains descriptor terms, an abstract when available, and the NAL call number if the particular source is available at the National Agricultural Library (NAL). Information on how to request materials that are included in the collection of the NAL may be found at: http://www.nal.usda.gov/services/request.shtml.
Readers are cautioned as to the dynamic nature of the internet and the fact that Web addresses and content are subject to change. All sites are current as of November 2007.
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