On-farm euthanasia of severely ill or injured pigs is an important welfare responsibility, and training stockpeople in humane euthanasia methods and decision-making is essential for reducing suffering at the end of life for affected animals.
On-farm euthanasia represents the welfare backstop of the production system: when animals cannot recover to acceptable welfare states, prompt and humane death is a welfare obligation rather than an economic loss to be deferred. The most significant welfare failure in on-farm euthanasia is delay, where stockpeople recognize an animal is suffering but postpone the decision waiting for recovery that does not come or for veterinary authorization that takes time to obtain. Training stockpeople in both the technical skills required for humane euthanasia and the decision-making framework for when euthanasia is warranted is among the highest-impact stockperson welfare training investments available. When euthanasia decisions are made promptly by competent stockpeople using appropriate methods, they prevent what would otherwise be hours or days of avoidable suffering for affected animals.