ASSURING DEATH
FOLLOWING CO2 EUTHANASIA

(TO BE AVAILABLE TO OPERATORS OF CO2 EUTHANASIA EQUIPMENT AT EACH LOCATION)

Inadequate exposure time to CO2 may result in animals that appear dead but can awaken from deep anesthesia. One of the following procedures MUST be followed to assure death.

• Observation – if another method of assuring death is not used, animals should be observed in the chamber for a minimum of 5 minutes and then for an additional period of 5 minutes exposed to room air. A timer must be available for timing the observation period.
• Cervical dislocation – animals that are fully unconscious may be killed by cervical dislocation. This procedure is limited to mice, or rats less than 200g.
• Decapitation
• Thoracotomy of deeply anesthetized or dead animals—
• Stab wound into the thorax
• Open the chest wall
• Open the abdomen and incise the diaphragm
• Experimental procedures on deeply anesthetized or dead animals which assure death by another means (e.g. exsanguinations, organ removal resulting in exsanguinations, thoracotomy, decapitation).

 

References:

• 2000 AVMA Panel on Euthanasia
• Report of the ACLAM Task Force on Rodent Euthanasia, American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine, 2005
• Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, 1996