4 ms·

This page suggests that rodents exposed to gradually increasing CO2 concentrations die painlessly because: > "[...] analgesia is induced at approximately 7.5%,

This page suggests that rodents exposed to gradually increasing CO2 concentrations die painlessly because: > "[...] analgesia is induced at approximately 7.5%, and anesthesia is induced at 30%, with death due to nervous system depression occurring with prolonged concentrations of 30% and higher." https://rsawa.research.ucla.edu/arc/euthanasia-rodent/ https://rsawa.research.ucla.edu/arc/euthanasia-rodent/ Seems dubious to me, since even very low concentrations of CO2 can make humans feel very uncomfortable (the "stuffy room" feeling, where getting fresh air starts to be the only thing you can focus on.) It's possible that rodents, being smaller, go through these stages of suffocation faster so their suffering is less apparent to people. Or maybe lab workers are telling "white lies" because they think the ends justify the means but they're not sure the rest of the public will see it that way.

taylodl 4y ago
One of the lab workers I know who works the most with mice is more of the squeamish type and is a vegetarian, so I think she'd be more upset if she saw the mice were in distress - and she's explained the entire process to me. It's also interesting they use the CO2 only on the adult mice, for the babies they simply cut their heads off with shears. She explained the babies are the ones that suffer when exposed to CO2, whereas the adults don't. The thing is it's all a matter of trust. Do we trust the meat industry when they tell us the animals aren't suffering? We've been lied to so many times by corporations that we tend to no longer trust them without some evidence. When they pay off legislatures to pass laws making it illegal to collect any evidence it makes it appear they're lying.