Title
Investigation Into the Humaneness of Slaughter Methods for Guinea Pigs (Cavia porcelus) in the Andean Region
Date Issued
02 July 2016
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
San Marcos University
Publisher(s)
Routledge
Abstract
Guinea pigs (Cavia porcelus) are an important source of nonhuman animal protein in the Andean region of South America. Specific guidelines regarding the welfare of guinea pigs before and during slaughter have yet to be developed. This study critically assessed the humaneness of 4 different stunning/slaughter methods for guinea pigs: cervical neck dislocation (n = 60), electrical head-only stunning (n = 83), carbon dioxide (CO2) stunning (n = 21), and penetrating captive bolt (n = 10). Following cervical neck dislocation, 97% of guinea pigs had at least 1 behavioral or cranial/spinal response. Six percent of guinea pigs were classified as mis-stunned after electrical stunning, and 1% were classified as mis-stunned after captive bolt. Increased respiratory effort was observed during CO2 stunning. Apart from this finding, there were no other obvious behavioral responses that could be associated with suffering. Of the methods assessed, captive bolt was deemed the most humane, effective, and practical method of stunning guinea pigs. Cervical neck dislocation should not be recommended as a slaughter method for guinea pigs.
Start page
280
End page
293
Volume
19
Issue
3
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Zoología, Ornitología, Entomología, ciencias biológicas del comportamiento
Ciencia veterinaria
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84961197870
PubMed ID
Source
Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science
ISSN of the container
10888705
DOI of the container
10.1080/10888705.2016.1138116
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus