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TAKE ACTION: Tell the AVMA to reclassify VSD as "Not recommended"

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VENTILATION SHUTDOWN
FAQS

WHAT IS VSD+ IN SIMPLE TERMS?

Ventilation Shutdown Plus (+) is the use of ventilation shutdown with added heat
and/or gas, to kill large numbers of animals at once. Ventilation shutdown
itself involves placing a flock or herd of animals into a building, sealing it
up, and turning off the ventilation systems, so the temperature rises and gases
accumulate, eventually killing the animals. This can take hours, and has been
compared to leaving a dog in a hot car (with the heat on full blast, in the case
of VSD+). It is a slow and arduous process that essentially amounts to baking
animals to death. If done to a pet, this could be criminal.

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HOW COMMON IS VSD+?

Tragically, VSD+ has become common in recent years as a method to kill poultry
during bird flu outbreaks on farms. But the 2020 outbreak of COVID-19 among
humans appears to be the first time VSD+ has been used to kill healthy animals
simply because they are deemed “excess”: the slaughterhouses they’d normally be
sent to were closed or running at partial capacity, causing animals to back up
on farms.  The industrial agriculture industry offers little transparency around
its depopulation methods and reasoning, but since the COVID-19 outbreak began,
to date, there have been at least two documented cases of pig herds killed for
this reason, using VSD+. [See one example here.]

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ARE THERE SIGNS OF COMPANIES OR PRODUCERS REDUCING THEIR USE OF VSD+?

Alarmingly, the opposite appears likely: industry-funded field trials are being
conducted to learn how to carry out VSD+ killing more efficiently, such as by
studying the ideal temperature and humidity levels.

Tell AVMA to reclassify VSD as "Not recommended"

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WHAT DOES THE AVMA SAY ABOUT VSD+?

The AVMA’s depopulation guidelines are tiered, with “Preferred” methods meant to
be used when possible. “Preferred” methods do not include Ventilation Shutdown
in any form. VSD+ is currently classified as “Permitted in constrained
circumstances.”

 * The AVMA’s Depopulation guidelines don’t apply to “precautionary” or
   “prophylactic” killing.The AVMA references the Guidelines for the Euthanasia
   of Animals and the AVMA Guidelines for the Humane Slaughter of Animals in
   circumstances necessitating prophylactic culling, neither of which includes
   Ventilation Shutdown in any form..

 * The AVMA’s depopulation guidelines’ discussions of ventilation shutdown
   methods are framed around circumstances involving time-sensitive animal
   disease outbreaks, i.e. not a circumstance of the sort faced by producers
   managing healthy animals as a result of slaughterhouse closures. Further, the
   poultry depopulation guidelines confusingly place VSD+ references under VSD
   headings—sometimes by pointing to USDA materials— without having separate
   provisions devoted to VSD+. Examples follow [underlining added]:

o   Swine 4.5.2.2 VSD plus —“The most compelling reason to use VSD when all
other methods have been ruled out is that, when done properly, it may provide a
quicker death, potentially eliminating the chance for the animals to die over a
longer period of time from distressing and devastating disease”)

o   Poultry 6.9.7 VSD — “The USDA has published two documents pertaining to VSD.
The first, HPAI Outbreak 2014–2015: Ventilation Shutdown Evidence and Policy,6
describes the rationale for supporting a revised depopulation policy for HPAI,
setting a goal for poultry to be depopulated within 24 hours of a presumptive
positive classification, on the basis of the current case definition. This
document also contains a decision tree for selecting VSD as a depopulation
method. The second document, HPAI Response Guidance: Using Ventilation Shutdown
to Control HPAI,26 contains specifications for carrying out VSD, including
general guidance, length and temperature of heating, and humidity and bird
density. The USDA Response Guide states that “VSD is the last option that will
be considered when selecting a depopulation method.” The Evidence and Policy
statement delineates six requirements for using VSD for HPAI: 1. Other methods
are not available or will not be available in a timely manner. 2. The
amplification of the virus on the premises poses a significant threat for
further transmission and ongoing spread of HPAI. 3. The questions in the
Ventilation Shutdown Evidence and Policy document have been reviewed and
discussed by APHIS officials, state or tribal officials, and the incident
management team. 4. Incident management team approval. 5. State officials’
approval. 6. National Incident Coordinator approval.”

The AVMA’s website on“COVID-19 impacts on food production medicine” stresses the
need for advanced planning, saying “all feasible alternatives should be explored
and implemented prior to making such a decision [to euthanize or depopulate
animals.]” It further calls for “the best possible animal welfare-focused
decisions, with the least amount of animal suffering,” and reminds that should
depopulation be deemed necessary, ““preferred methods” should be utilized
first.”

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ARE THERE ALTERNATIVES TO VSD+?

Yes! The AVMA’s Euthanasia guidelines—meant to be used as a first option—include
7 methods for pigs and 10 methods for birds. The secondary option of the AVMA’s
Depopulation guidelines includes 7 preferred methods for pigs, and 4 valid,
preferred options for poultry.

Tell AVMA to reclassify VSD as "Not recommended"

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HOW DO “NOT RECOMMENDED” METHODS DIFFER FROM METHODS “PERMITTED IN CONSTRAINED
CIRCUMSTANCES”?

The AVMA says those depopulation methods it explicitly does not recommend
“should be considered only when the circumstances preclude the reasonable
implementation of any of the preferred methods or those permitted in constrained
circumstances and when the risk of doing nothing is deemed likely to have a
reasonable chance of resulting in significantly more animal suffering than that
associated with the proposed depopulation technique.” This leaves only a very
narrow and limited set of circumstances.

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WHAT DO VETERINARIANS SAY ABOUT VSD+?

Over one thousand veterinarians have already signed this petition, calling on
AVMA to reclassify VSD+ as “not recommended,” as this method is inhumane and
results in prolonged death, while other options are available instead. Poultry
industry research concludes VSD with additional heat takes an average of two
hours to kill egg-laying hens, which does not meet the AVMA’s standard of over
95% of animals dead in less than one hour.

The American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) recommends Ventilation
Shutdown (VSD+) as a “last resort” option only if the facility can increase the
temperature enough for 95% of the animals to die in less than an hour. According
to AVMA-cited research and swine veterinarians, not only is that unrealistic in
most barns, requiring extensive and costly retrofitting to meet the standards,
but VSD+ remains inhumane, causing death by overheating and suffocation. The
World Organization for Animal Health has farm animal depopulation guidelines,
but they are only for purposes of disease control and they make no mention of
ventilation shutdown in any form.

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WHAT ARE COMPANIES’ REASONS FOR USING VSD+?

VSD+ is used in the poultry and pig industries. Both are largely vertically
integrated, meaning that companies—rather than farmers— own the animals, and
decide how they are managed. The mass depopulation of animals using horrific
methods is an outgrowth of the factory farming system, which now dominates the
production of animals for food in the U.S.

Reasons offered by animal agribusiness for reserving VSD+ as a depopulation
option during COVID-19, are all challenges that can be overcome with proper
planning and implementation. For example, the challenge of killing an entire
flock or herd of animals: the AVMA itself urges this, as do several food animal
production accreditation programs, which require advanced planning for
emergencies , as well as the psychological impacts on employees carrying out the
depopulation. There is no reason that non-VSD+ methods cannot be used in place
of the cruelest methods.

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HOW ARE THE AVMA GUIDELINES USED BY THE ANIMAL AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY?

The AVMA’s depopulation guidelines are understandably considered the industry
standard for those seeking guidance around depopulation. Unfortunately, various
industry voices have construed the guidelines to justify using VSD+ even for
foreseeable backups of healthy animals during COVID—and have pointed publicly to
the guidelines as justification. AVMA’s silence on this matter has allowed this
tragic misapplication of the guidelines’ apparent intentions to flourish.

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WHAT IS THIS PETITION SEEKING?

We are asking the AVMA to classify Ventilation Shutdown Plus as “Not
Recommended” for poultry and pigs. Currently, Ventilation Shutdown Plus is
listed in the AVMA’s depopulation guidelines as “Permitted in constrained
circumstances” for poultry and pigs. Reclassifying VSD+ would clarify that VSD+
is not an appropriate method for depopulating farm animals under any normally
expected scenario. 

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HOW CAN I HELP?

Please sign the petition by December 31, asking the AVMA to classify all forms
of VSD as “Not Recommended.”

Tell AVMA to reclassify VSD as "Not recommended"

VETERINARIANS AGAINST VENTILATION SHUTDOWN

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