Ventilation Shutdown Key Facts
Ventilation shutdown+ is a mass killing method of farm animals in which barns are sealed up, heat and steam is pumped in and animals die of heat stroke. It has now been used to kill tens of millions of animals. It is a method described in the AVMA Guidelines on Depopulation to be used in “constrained circumstances” only, but the animal agriculture industry is not putting plans in place to use alternative methods and their business model creates the very constrained circumstances that necessitate its use.
Photo obtained by Animal Outlook via public records request from experiments killing birds via ventilation shutdown performed at the Prestage Department of Poultry Science at North Carolina State University.
United Poultry Concerns published ads in Metro Philadelphia raising awareness about the AVMA’s sanctioning of Ventilation Shutdown+.
Check out Dr. Karen Davis’s piece about Ventilation Shutdown+ which has been re-published widely.
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Veterinarian Dr. Vicky Bond of the Humane League is doing great work to raise awareness about ventilation shutdown among veterinarians and the general public and encouraging the public to help veterinarians in pressuring the AVMA to listen to our interests instead of corporate interests! Check out her campaign here:
The Humane League’s Ventilation Shutdown Campaign.
Help veterinarians by sending an email to the AVMA and tweeting at the AVMA.
Great new op-eds published by veterinarians in the SF Chronicle and Washington Post!
July 18th, 2022
San Francisco Chronicle: This widely unknown method of killing farm animals is crueler than you can imagine | Indu Mani, DVM and Dr. Jacob M. Appel
July 6, 2022
Washington Post: Why are we accepting the mass slaughter of animals through heat stroke | Ben Collins, DVM and Lauri Torgerson-White
June 7, 2022
Vermont Law School Hot Topics: Bird Flu and the normalization of ventilation Shutdown | Marina Bolotnikova
June 6, 2022
US bird flu outbreak: millions of birds culled in ‘the most inhumane way available’ | The Guardian
May 26, 2022
Avian Flu Outbreak Illustrates How Factory Farming Threatens Animal Welfare and Public Health | Animal Welfare Institute
May 5, 2022
The horrific bird flu that has wiped out 36 million chickens and turkeys, explained | Kenny Torrella, Vox
April 28, 2022
US egg factory roasts alive 5.3m chickens in avian flu cull – then fires almost every worker | The Guardian
April 26th, 2022
April 25, 2022
Here's why protests at Minnesota Timberwolves games are tied to an Iowa chicken farm, bird flu | Des Moines Register
April 14, 2022
Amid bird flu outbreak, meat producers seek “ventilation shutdown” for mass chicken killing | The Intercept
April 13, 2022
Animal activist tried to glue herself on court of Timberwolves-Clippers play-in game | USA Today
March 23, 2022
Five million layers snuffed as avian flu hits
January 24th, 2022
FBI BUSTED For Targeting Animal Rights Activist | Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar
January 23rd, 2022
January 19th, 2022
Ag-Gag Charges Dropped Against Activist Who Uncovered Ventilation Shutdown
New Commentary on the Veterinary Information Network January 10, 2022
Powerful and Compassionate Perspective from Latina Veterinarian Dr. Daniela Castillo
January 7, 2022
Op-Ed in the Chicago Tribune calls on the AVMA to take action on the issue of Ventilation Shutdown.
January 6, 2022
Image taken at Iowa Select Farms on May 19th, 2020 after implementing VSD+, courtesy of Direct Action Everywhere
The National Pork Producers Council reported as many as 10 million pigs needed to be depopulated in 2020.
Ventilation Shutdown+ (VSD+)involves sealing up barns, pumping in heat and steam until the animals die of heat stroke. Video and audio recordings reveal prolonged and extreme suffering of animals
poses an emotional toll on the workers as well.
Gained significant media attention
After Pork Giant Exposed For Cruel Killings, the FBI Pursued Its Critics
Activist trials set for January 20th in Iowa expected to re-ignite discussion
VSD+ is currently listed as to be used in constrained circumstances only in the depopulation guidelines.
Veterinarians Against Ventilation Shutdown (VAVSD.org) is asking the AVMA to reclassify Ventilation Shutdown as a not recommended form of depopulation.
So far over 1500 veterinarians have signed on in support and over 3500 veterinary professionals
Dr. Angela Baysinger et. al. revealed in a JAVMA Letter to the Editor that 10% of swine veterinarians considered suicide due to depopulation.
Mental health should be considered a One Health issue
Dr. Temple Grandin lists alternatives in a recent paper and states in an email Ventilation Shutdown+ should not be used.
Alternatives include mobile electrocution trailers.
Converting slaughterhouses to carcass production which requires 50% fewer workers.
Other alternatives include decreasing stocking densities to allow for more time before welfare is severely compromised.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) wrote a letter to the AVMA and the panel on depopulation and also described alternative methods that could be used. They have yet to receive a response from the AVMA.
Dr. Angela Baysinger, animal welfare lead at Merck was lead author on “A case study of ventilation shutdown with the addition of high temperature and humidity for the depopulation of pigs.”
243,016 pigs were killed in this study
Total time to kill the animals took 90.4 minutes for nursery pigs and 110.3 minutes for finishing pigs. One incident lasted over 2.5 hours.
Pigs were only given 6.8sqft space/pig on this farm
On October 26th, 2021 Our Honor sent a letter to Dr. Jose Arce, President of the AVMA as well as the Panel on Depopulation. They have yet to hear any response.
Taxpayers compensated producers for depopulating their animals through the USDA Livestock Indemnity Program.
$55.31 for suckling nursery pigs less than 50lbs
up to $258.57 for boars and sows weighing 451 lbs or greater.
The farm featured in Baysinger et. al.’s case study would have received between $23 million and $34 million.
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