Dataset Information

Physiological Changes as a Measure of Crustacean Welfare under Different Standardized Stunning Techniques: Cooling and Electroshock.

ABSTRACT: Stunning of edible crustaceans to reduce sensory perception prior and during slaughter is an important topic in animal welfare. The purpose of this project was to determine how neural circuits were affected during stunning by examining the physiological function of neural circuits. The central nervous system circuit to a cardiac or skeletal muscle response was examined. Three commercially important crustacean species were utilized for stunning by immersion in an ice slurry below 4 °C and by electrocution; both practices are used in the seafood industry. The blue crab (Callinectes sapidus), the red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii), and the whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) responded differently to stunning by cold and electric shock. Immersion in ice slurry induced sedation within seconds in crayfish and shrimp but not crabs and cardiac function was reduced fastest in shrimp. However, crabs could retain a functional neural circuit over the same time when shrimp and crayfish were nonresponsive. An electroshock of 10 s paralyzed all three species and subsequently decreased heart rate within 1 min and then heart rate increased but resulted in irregularity over time. Further research is needed to study a state of responsiveness by these methods.

SUBMITTER: Weineck K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6162729 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Physiological Changes as a Measure of Crustacean Welfare under Different Standardized Stunning Techniques: Cooling and Electroshock.

Weineck Kristin K Ray Andrew J AJ Fleckenstein Leo J LJ Medley Meagan M Dzubuk Nicole N Piana Elena E Cooper Robin L RL

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI 20180918 9

Stunning of edible crustaceans to reduce sensory perception prior and during slaughter is an important topic in animal welfare. The purpose of this project was to determine how neural circuits were affected during stunning by examining the physiological function of neural circuits. The central nervous system circuit to a cardiac or skeletal muscle response was examined. Three commercially important crustacean species were utilized for stunning by immersion in an ice slurry below 4 °C and by elec ...[more]

PMID: 30231519

Similar Datasets

Project description:Alternatives to carbon dioxide (CO2) stunning for the commercial slaughter of pigs are urgently needed because there is robust evidence that exposing pigs to hypercapnic environments is associated with pain, fear, and distress. Hypobaric hypoxia (via gradual decompression, also known as Low Atmospheric Pressure Stunning or LAPS) has been validated in poultry as a humane option, but its potential to improve the welfare of pigs at slaughter is unknown. We investigated the potential of hypobaric hypoxia to reliably elicit a non-recovery state in anesthetized weaner-grower pigs within a commercially viable timeframe. We determined the effect of candidate decompression rates (40, 60, 80, 100 ms-1, at two cycle durations 480 s and 720 s) on a range of physiological and reflexive behavioral indicators of hypoxia and death. We found that the decompression rates tested caused a 100% death rate. As expected, the decompression rate had overarching effects on behavioral and physiological markers of hypoxia and death, with faster decompression rates resulting in shorter latencies to cardiac arrest and cessation of breathing. We observed a higher proportion of pigs displaying repeated and prolonged whole-body movements (likely indicative of convulsive activity) at higher frequencies when we applied the slowest decompression rate (40 ms-1) compared to all other rates. Since these responses may impact the carcass and meat quality, the slower rate of decompression (40 ms-1) should be excluded as a candidate decompression rate. Furthermore, given the marginal effects of decompression rate on physiological indicators of death and reflexive behavioral parameters, we also recommend that the fastest rate tested (100 ms-1) is excluded in further study on conscious pigs (to prevent conscious animals from being exposed to unnecessary faster decompression rates which may compromise animal welfare). This work represents a necessary proof of principle step and confirms the potential of gradual decompression for stunning purposes in pigs. Importantly, however, the data presented provide no information on the welfare outcomes associated with decompression in conscious pigs. Subsequent work should focus on the comprehensive welfare assessment of intermediate decompression rates to determine the potential of hypobaric hypoxia to provide a humane stunning method for pigs.

Dataset Information

Physiological Changes as a Measure of Crustacean Welfare under Different Standardized Stunning Techniques: Cooling and Electroshock.

Publications

Physiological Changes as a Measure of Crustacean Welfare under Different Standardized Stunning Techniques: Cooling and Electroshock.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets