AVMA Euthanasia Guidelines – AAAP comments
SECTION: Physical Methods
Item: Non-Penetrating Captive Bolt
Current statements:
The non-penetrating captive bolt has a wide mushroom-shaped head that does not penetrate the brain of
large mammals, such as adult cattle, slaughter-weight pigs, sows and adult sheep. In general, regular nonpenetrating captive bolt guns only stun animals and should not be used as a sole method of euthanasia.
Correct positioning is critical for an effective stun of an adult cow. Non-penetrating captive bolts are not
effective for stunning bulls, adult swine, or cattle with long hair.
Purpose-built pneumatic non-penetrating captive bolt guns have recently been developed and successfully
used for euthanasia of suckling pigs (Widowski, 2011), neonatal ruminants (Woods, 2010), and turkeys
(Erasmus, 2010).
Advantage—Less damage to the brain.
Disadvantage—(1) Non-penetrating captive bolts only stun animals and therefore are generally not
effective as a sole means of euthanasia. The exception is non-penetrating pneumatic captive bolt guns that
have been purpose-built for euthanasia of suckling pigs (Widowski, 2011), neonatal ruminants (Woods,
2010) and turkeys (Erasmus, 2010). (2) Depending on degree of destruction, use of a non-penetrating
captive bolt may preclude postmortem diagnostics for diseases of the brain, including rabies and chronic
wasting disease.
Recommendations—In general, non-penetrating captive bolts should not be used as a sole method of
euthanasia. However, pneumatic purpose-built non-penetrating captive bolt guns have been used
successfully to euthanatize suckling pigs (Widowski, 2011), neonatal ruminants (Woods, 2010) and
turkeys (Erasmus, 2010).
Suggested changes from AAAP:
The non-penetrating captive bolt has a wide mushroom-shaped head that does not penetrate the brain of
large mammals, such as adult cattle, slaughter-weight pigs, sows and adult sheep. In general, regular nonpenetrating captive bolt guns only stun animals and should not be used as a sole method of euthanasia.
Correct restraint and positioning of the non-penetrating captive bolt in the cranial area is critical for an
effective stun of an adult cow the animal. Non-penetrating captive bolts are not effective for stunning
bulls, adult swine, or cattle with long hair.
Purpose-built pneumatic non-penetrating captive bolt guns have recently been developed and successfully
used for euthanasia of suckling pigs (Widowski, 2011), neonatal ruminants (Woods, 2010), and turkeys
(Erasmus, 2010).
Advantage—Less damage to the brain.
Disadvantage—(1) Non-penetrating captive bolts only stun animals and therefore are generally not
effective as a sole means of euthanasia. The exception is non-penetrating pneumatic captive bolt guns that
AVMA Euthanasia Guidelines – AAAP comments
have been purpose-built for euthanasia of suckling pigs (Widowski, 2011), neonatal ruminants (Woods,
2010) and turkeys (Erasmus, 2010) and large poultry. (2) Depending on degree of destruction, use of a
non-penetrating captive bolt may preclude postmortem diagnostics for diseases of the brain, including
rabies and chronic wasting disease.
Recommendations— In general, non-penetrating captive bolts should not be used as a sole method of
euthanasia. However, pneumatic purpose-built non-penetrating captive bolt guns have been used
successfully to euthanatize suckling pigs (Widowski, 2011), neonatal ruminants (Woods, 2010) and
turkeys (Erasmus, 2010), and large poultry.
Reason for change:
1. Correct restraint and positioning is critically important for a rapid and humane death of the
animal and safety for the person(s) involved in the application of the technique. This is applicable
to all animals, not just cattle. To avoid confusion about the location of the application of the
method, we suggest the addition of the word “cranial” area to highlight the use of the captive bolt
device.
2. Captive bolt (penetrating and non-penetrating) is currently mentioned in the Conditionally
Acceptable Physical Methods of the Poultry Section of the AVMA Guidelines for Animals
Farmed for Food or Fiber. To maintain continuity in the AVMA guidelines, we believe
that it should be clearly included for large poultry species in this section also. It does not
exclude the use for turkeys or any other poultry species in this section. By deleting the wording
“turkeys” from this section, both will be parallel in the AVMA euthanasia guidance for this
method.
3. A study completed by Erasmus (2010) compared the effect of a non-penetrating captive bolt
device with other standard methods of euthanasia for turkeys only. However, non-penetrating
captive bolt devices have been successfully used on various adult poultry (chickens, ducks,
turkeys, geese, etc.) by poultry-specialized veterinarians and should therefore not be limited to
sole use in turkeys. While there are no additional scientific papers documenting the use, it is
mentioned as an acceptable method of euthanasia for poultry in the EU Regulation (COUNCIL
REGULATION (EC) No 1099/2009, page L303/19) on the Protection of Animals at the Time of
Killing.
4. For these reasons, we are suggesting the above modification for the AVMA guidelines.