I'm super excited to release our third virtual workshop focusing on euthanasia of livestock species. This workshop is available in our easy-to-use, self-paced virtual format & includes lots of written information as well as video demonstrations of captive bolt anatomy & handling, plus lots of links to other relevant resources. (Note: you'll see demonstrations of the captive bolt gun on a melon)
Why did we put together a whole euthanasia workshop?
Because it's extremely important that you have an accessible method of euthanasia in the event your veterinarian cannot get to you. As animal stewards, we are not only responsible for the wellbeing of our animals in life, but also in death. And sometimes that means making the difficult decision to end the animal's life on farm to prevent further suffering.
This is also a skill that most school & small farms have really just... ignored. There seems to be the assumption that if the time came where an animal was severely injured or in distress that their veterinarian would rush right over to take care of it. And while that might be the ideal situation, that is far from the real life situation many days. Your vet could be in the middle of a dystocia, a surgery, a herd check, or even a weekend away from work.
It's not reasonable to expect total availability all the time. So that means you should work with your veterinarian to find an on-farm euthanasia option that fits your needs & get trained up!
Our Euthanasia of Livestock Species Virtual Workshop focuses on use of the penetrating captive bolt gun, as they are affordable, easy to use, & effective in causing quick, humane death. We also cover situations in which you should consider euthanasia, other acceptable & unacceptable methods of euthanasia, species landmarks for captive bolt use, & animal carcass disposal considerations.
I hope you use our workshop as a launchpad for a conversation & in person training with your veterinarian, or as an annual refresher about how to use a captive bolt gun correctly.
Check it out!
