Principles and Techniques of Euthanasia Notes

Regulatory Compliance

  • Codes, Guidelines, and Regulations:
    • Queensland Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 & Regulation 2012
    • Australian Code for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes (8th Edition)
    • NHMRC Guidelines for animal wellbeing and genetically modified/cloned animals.
    • Model Codes of Practice for various animals (Saleyards, Rabbits, Pigs, Sheep).
    • Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research
    • Australia’s ethics framework for animals used in research and teaching

Australian Code of Practice

  • Purpose: Ethical, humane, and responsible care and use of animals for scientific purposes.
  • Details responsibilities of investigators, animal carers, institutions, and animal ethics committees (AECs).
  • Applies to live non-human vertebrates and cephalopods, including embryos, foetuses, and larval forms.

Responsibilities:

  • Institutions: Have an AEC, promote compliance, ensure effective AEC operation, monitor compliance.
  • Investigators: Apply Code principles, follow policies, obtain AEC approval, undertake training, maintain records, report to AEC.
  • Animal Carers: Apply Code principles, follow policies, ensure appropriate environment, safeguard wellbeing, maintain records, report to AEC.

The 3 R’s

  • Replacement: Use methods without animals.
  • Reduction: Use fewer animals or get more information from the same number.
  • Refinement: Alleviate pain, distress, and enhance wellbeing.

Guidelines for Animal Wellbeing

  • Aim: Minimize pain and distress in compliance with the Australian Code of Practice.
  • How: Promote animal wellbeing, minimize pain and distress, provide management strategies.
  • Poor management implications: Data variability, increased animal numbers, irreproducible data, reduced credibility.

Animal Ethics

  • Framework for evaluating actions as good/bad, right/wrong when animals are used for scientific purposes.
  • Requires approval from institutional Animal Ethics Committees (AECs).
  • Experiments must adhere strictly to ethics approval.

Animal Ethics Committees:

  • Ensure compliance with animal research legislation.
  • Oversee animal use in research and teaching.
  • Approve and monitor animal use.
  • Responsibilities: Review applications, monitor care, address adverse events, ensure compliance, advise institutions.
  • Apply the Five Freedoms and the 3Rs.

Five Freedoms:

  • Freedom from hunger and thirst.
  • Freedom from discomfort.
  • Freedom from pain, injury, and disease.
  • Freedom to express normal behavior.
  • Freedom from fear and distress.

Humane Killing and Euthanasia

  • Humane killing: Killing with minimal pain or distress.
  • Euthanasia: Humane killing in the animal’s interest to alleviate pain and distress.
  • Difference lies in the reason for killing.

Essential Wellbeing Considerations

  • Avoid distress, ensure rapid loss of consciousness, be reliable and irreversible.
  • Appropriate for age, species, and health.
  • Requires minimal restraint.
  • Compatible with study objectives and safe for operator.
  • Aesthetically acceptable if possible.

Management of Anxiety, Fear, and Distress

  • Trained personnel needed to recognize signs of distress and confirm death.
  • Confirmation of death: Absence of respiration, heartbeat, loss of color, dilated pupils, loss of reflexes, glazing of eyes.
  • Killing environment: Quiet, clean, away from other animals.

Methods of Humane Killing (Rats and Mice)

  • Recommended: Injectable (pentobarbitone sodium IP).
  • Acceptable with reservations: Inhalant (carbon dioxide), Cervical dislocation (if stunned/anesthetized).
  • Not acceptable: Various inhalants (ether, hydrogen cyanide, etc.), Microwave irradiation, Rapid freezing, Asphyxia.

Needle Gauge Recommendations

  • Different gauges are recommended based on species and injection sites.

Blood Collection

  • Recommendations for blood collection sites and volumes