More than 860 Veterinarians, Students Call on AVMA to Discourage Cruel Killing Methods Niki Thu, 02/06/2025 - 14:31 Photo by Victoria de Martigny/We Animals Media February 6, 2025 Washington, DC—Hundreds of veterinarians and veterinary students from across the country are urging the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) to revise its guidelines regarding methods of killing farmed animals during emergencies. The veterinary professionals and students are calling on the AVMA to do more to deter the use of particularly cruel killing methods such as inducing heat stroke in hens, suffocating pigs and cattle with water-based foam, and bludgeoning piglets. In a letter submitted last week, the 868 signers, including 504 AVMA members, urged the association to revise its draft “Guidelines for the Depopulation of Animals.” The guidelines apply to the large-scale killing of animals in emergency situations, such as the ongoing disease control efforts in response to the current bird flu outbreak. While the standards are voluntary, the US Department of Agriculture typically relies on them to facilitate the mass killing of animals, which has resulted in taxpayer-backed indemnity payments to producers totaling $1.25 billion since 2022. “As the leading voice for America’s veterinarians, the AVMA needs to be at the forefront of deterring killing methods that result in severe suffering for millions of animals. While we acknowledge some important improvements in this draft, it requires several key changes to ensure animal welfare is prioritized by the USDA and farm operators,” said Gwendolen Reyes-Illg, DVM, a veterinary medical consultant for the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and AVMA member. The letter was drafted by veterinarians and others who have expertise in depopulation, and signatures were collected by the Veterinary Association for Farm Animal Welfare. One controversial killing method called ventilation shutdown plus heat (VSD+) involves sealing a barn, turning off the airflow, and adding heat and sometimes steam to raise the temperature as high as 170 degrees. The process can take hours and cause extreme distress to the animals inside. Federal records show that, from February 2022 to November 2024, over 76% of poultry (about 86 million chickens, turkeys, and ducks) were killed in bird flu depopulations that used VSD+ alone or in combination with another method. For years, AWI has urged the AVMA to reclassify VSD+ as “not recommended” for any species. Yet the association’s proposed guidelines continue to recommend VSD+ for birds in “constrained circumstances” under a tiered ranking system. The recent letter calls on the AVMA to downgrade VSD+ from Tier 2 to the bottom Tier 3 in its draft guidelines—as it does for pigs—and explicitly state that VSD+ is “not recommended.” Tier 3 methods are defined as those for which there is “limited to no evidence to support their use,” or for which the “evidence may be contrary to good animal welfare.” The letter further asks that two additional cruel killing methods be downgraded to Tier 3: Water-based foam, which suffocates pigs or other livestock by painfully blocking their airways, and manual blunt force trauma, which typically involves striking a piglet in the head with a hammer or swinging the animal against the floor or a wall. Media Contact Information Marjorie Fishman, Animal Welfare Institutemargie@awionline.org, (202) 446-2128 The Animal Welfare Institute (awionline.org) is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 1951 and dedicated to alleviating animal suffering caused by people. We seek to improve the welfare of animals everywhere: in agriculture, in commerce, in our homes and communities, in research, and in the wild. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, and LinkedIn for updates and other important animal protection news.