Attitudes of laboratory animal professionals and researchers towards carbon dioxide euthanasia for rodents and perceived barriers to change.

ABSTRACT: Evidence indicates that carbon dioxide (CO₂) induces negative affective states (including anxiety, fear and distress) in laboratory rodents, but many countries still accept it for euthanasia. Alternative methods (e.g. inhalant anaesthetic) may represent a refinement over CO₂ but are not widely adopted. We conducted an online survey of Canadian and European laboratory animal professionals and researchers (n = 592) to assess their attitudes towards the use of CO₂ and alternative methods for rodent euthanasia using quantitative 7-point scale (from 1 (= strongly oppose) to 7 (= strongly favour) and qualitative (open-ended text) responses. CO₂ was identified as the most common method used to kill rodents, and attitudes towards this method were

SUBMITTER: Brunt MW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8669199 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature