Foam depopulation or foaming is a means of mass killing farm animals by spraying foam over a large area to obstruct breathing and ultimately cause suffocation.[1] It is usually used to attempt to stop disease spread.[2] Foaming has also been used to kill farm animals after backlogs in slaughtering occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] Foam depopulation has been used on poultry and pigs and has seen initial research for use on cattle.[4] It has faced criticism from some groups. Some veterinarians have called it inhumane,[5] along with many animal rights and animal welfare organizations who cite the pain caused by suffocation or the harm experienced by the stray survivors.[6][7]
- ^ "New weapon in war on bird flu: tiny bubbles". NBC News. 2007-06-10. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
- ^ Bolotnikova, Marina (2022-03-08). "'They're cooking them alive': calls to ban 'cruel' killing methods on US farms". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
- ^ Kevany, Sophie (2020-04-29). "Millions of farm animals culled as US food supply chain chokes up". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- ^ Capria, Vittoria M; Arruda, Andréia G; Cheng, Ting-Yu; Campler, Magnus R; Youngblood, Brad L; Moeller, Steven J; Bowman, Andrew S; Kieffer, Justin D (2023-01-01). "Water-based medium-expansion foam depopulation of adult cattle". Translational Animal Science. 7 (1): txad065. doi:10.1093/tas/txad065. ISSN 2573-2102. PMC 10321402. PMID 37415594.
- ^ Donn, Jeff (2007-08-26). "Industry looking for 'humane' way to slay thousands". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
- ^ Bolotnikova, Marina (2023-11-17). "Bird flu is surging again on poultry farms. The US is normalizing the cruelest mass killing method to stop it". Vox. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- ^ "Bird flu's grisly question: how to kill millions of poultry". AP News. 2022-04-07. Retrieved 2024-01-31.