Author Topic: Feral pig euthanasia  (Read 3580 times)

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Offline PerdidoTopic starter

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Feral pig euthanasia
« on: January 13, 2025, 05:11:41 am »
OK, I know this must sound really weird, but please hang with me.  I have a huge feral hog problem and I trap them on a regular basis and I would like a humane way to euthanize them.  I’m out in the country with no electricity other than 12 V batteries and from what I’ve read it takes 300v at 5 amps to do the job humanely.  If I have a 12 volt 800 CCA battery or something similar, is there a way to increase the voltage to 300v with 5 amps?  Since I am barely capable of the basics this would need to be something off the shelf that I could buy.  I’m open to all options and forgive me if I have to ask for clarification on terminology.
Thanks, Perdido
 

Offline Andy Chee

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #1 on: January 13, 2025, 05:39:30 am »
Easiest method might be to purchase an off the shelf 12V-240V 2kW DC-AC power inverter and tweak the output for 300V.

However electrocution is not humane. 

If you truly want humane, use a bolt gun to the head, or electric solenoid bolt to the head, to knock them unconscious.  Then follow up with a carbon dioxide/monoxide gas chamber.
 
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Offline Marco

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #2 on: January 13, 2025, 06:11:22 am »
Shooting them seems safer.
 
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Offline IanB

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #3 on: January 13, 2025, 06:23:56 am »
Well:

a) If you don't know what you are doing, it is not humane -- you will be experimenting, probably unsuccessfully.
b) 300 V will not deliver 5 A, so this is a non-starter. If you try to apply 300 V to a feral hog, all you will get is an enraged, crazy animal.

The normal, humane way to kill an animal is to shoot it.

 
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Offline audiotubes

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #4 on: January 13, 2025, 06:44:26 am »
In some places I lived, this is an income opportunity for farmers and ranchers. Depending on your wildlife laws you maybe could open up your place for hunting, and at least the hogs will wind up in somebody's freezer.

Also, depending on your wildlife management organization, you could ask the office responsible for this to help.
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Offline Halcyon

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #5 on: January 13, 2025, 06:57:52 am »
Surely there are people or companies who specialise in this kind of thing? Might be worth talking to the professionals.
 

Offline coromonadalix

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #6 on: January 13, 2025, 12:22:52 pm »
don't care about humanity,     i doesn't kill them to touch high voltages fences / wires,    many does that for years, farms  etc  ...   

yep   pest control companies  would help / give advices 

if not possible,  you end up killing them  if the town city permit it,   as written ....  wildlife laws applicable ??

 

Offline EEVblog

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #7 on: January 13, 2025, 12:49:24 pm »
Surely there are people or companies who specialise in this kind of thing? Might be worth talking to the professionals.

Yes, this is not really the place to discuss this topic, it requires a professional opinion in such matters, of which I'm pretty sure you won't find here.
Maybe a veterinary forum?
 

Offline PerdidoTopic starter

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #8 on: January 13, 2025, 01:01:41 pm »
Thanks for the reply’s and I’m trying to follow the best practices for humane stunning (across the brain) followed by death (across the heart) electrocution.  This is the process packing plants use and I’m trying to do the same.  Our laws prohibit live transport of wild pigs due to disease and the locals won’t eat them for the same reason.  We do hunt them and we’ve been shooting them once they are trapped, but that really affects the local deer population in a negative way.  We currently, no pun intended, have 6 traps scattered across the property and Im just trying to find a better way.  The first reply might be what I’m looking for and not knowing the electrical lingo inhibits my Google searches.  All that said i really would like to figure out how to do this!  Thanks for your help and if any ideas come to mind like starting with 24v or 36v please share them.
Perdido
 

Offline CaptDon

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #9 on: January 13, 2025, 01:48:02 pm »
There was a hog farm along the railroad tracks where I walked for excersize. He electrocuted live hogs for butchering. It was a horrible sound because they don't die straight away!!! I considered it very inhumane!! Either shoot them or consult with professionals in the business such as the local large animal vet or animal control officers. Very few hog farms are doing electrocution, they have all progressed to the bolt gun. There were commercially made electrocution process machines which are used in a controlled manner and in your case with no mains you would require a substantial 12 volt supply such as a pair of commercial truck batteries either in parallel for 12vdc at a high surge capacity or in series for 24vdc and feed this to any of the readily available inverters made for the truckers who run microwaves and so forth. Some of those inverters will handle 2400 watts sustained. It is true that some electrocution machines don't draw a large amount of sustained current. They rely of a huge charge of stored energy to stop the heart with one jolt although it gets ugly if the first attempt fails!!! Seek professional advice from folks in the field. A gun is probably the best and cheapest answer until something humane comes along.
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Offline johnk0gcj@gmail.com

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #10 on: January 13, 2025, 01:56:12 pm »

Humane for you or the hog? Electrocution would be somewhat inhumane for you while attaching
the electrodes. At about 36 volts or so the hog would be starting to feel contrition and up around
100 volts it would no longer be feeling much. The most humane way would be a 12ga deer slug
between the eyes. Safer for you as well.

 

Offline MrAl

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #11 on: January 13, 2025, 03:03:22 pm »
OK, I know this must sound really weird, but please hang with me.  I have a huge feral hog problem and I trap them on a regular basis and I would like a humane way to euthanize them.  I’m out in the country with no electricity other than 12 V batteries and from what I’ve read it takes 300v at 5 amps to do the job humanely.  If I have a 12 volt 800 CCA battery or something similar, is there a way to increase the voltage to 300v with 5 amps?  Since I am barely capable of the basics this would need to be something off the shelf that I could buy.  I’m open to all options and forgive me if I have to ask for clarification on terminology.
Thanks, Perdido

Hi,

I don't recommend electrocution either it's too tricky to get right.  This includes how you connect and where you connect on the animal.  Too tricky.

How about a guillotine?  That's instant, but I think they usually gas them first with carbon dioxide at the right levels over time.
The downside is it is rather gruesome.

A bolt to the head is also common but it is not definite and sometimes a bullet is then used to finish the job.

A nasty business either way if you ask me.
 

Online jpanhalt

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #12 on: January 13, 2025, 03:29:24 pm »
Check your state laws.  In Ohio, our law specifies a minimum distance of the gun from the head.  I don't know why it matters from the standpoint of not causing excess pain, but be sure you are legal.  I use a .22 LR in my Ruger single six to humanely get rid of trapped and a similar rifle for open field pests like groundhogs and raccoons.  Feral pigs are not a problem in my area.  I typically aim for the heart as it is less messy for trapped pests and rabies is a concern with raccoons.  That is something you need to check for the feral pigs in your area.
 
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Offline 5U4GB

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #13 on: January 13, 2025, 04:07:08 pm »
If you truly want humane, use a bolt gun to the head, or electric solenoid bolt to the head, to knock them unconscious. 

The specific item the OP needs is a captive bolt pistol, however this assumes you can get close enough to administer it.  If you tried that with the wild pigs here you'd end up with missing limbs and/or internal organs.

I think the OP's best bet would be to ask in a hunting forum.

(Just checked and apparently bolt gun is another name for a captive bolt pistol, so we're talking about the same thing).
« Last Edit: January 13, 2025, 04:08:53 pm by 5U4GB »
 

Offline CaptDon

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #14 on: January 13, 2025, 06:05:07 pm »
I know carbon dioxide is used but here is a fact most folks don't know. The buildup of carbon dioxide is the trigger mechanism that causes you to take the next breath. It IS NOT the lack of oxygen. The build up of carbon dioxide will trigger the suffocation reflex and isn't pretty. Argon is absolutely a humane euthanizing gas. The subject will die from lack of oxygen but will slip into a peaceful uncontious state first without any sense of anxiety or trauma. This lesson was learned years ago when scuba divers unknowingly swapped their argon tank (used for drysuit inflation) with their bail-out air tank. This happened when divers were using 'what they could rig up cheaply'. It is an almost impossible mistake to make in recent times.
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Offline NaDobraNich

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #15 on: January 13, 2025, 07:01:23 pm »
There is a low tech formerly-Chinese now-American approach to this. Classic overthinking..... Unless feral pigs was a euphemism, in that case no one wants to be part of this anymore!
 

Offline Marco

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #16 on: January 13, 2025, 07:17:23 pm »
shooting them once they are trapped, but that really affects the local deer population in a negative way.

Big bore air gun? Ammo is a bit expensive though.

Nitrogen foam seems to be an up and coming solution for euthanasia. It could probably be done with a small firefighting foam system, but there's no protocol for small scale use yet. Maybe some agricultural college would be interested in creating one, but that would be a long term solution.
 

Offline IanB

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #17 on: January 13, 2025, 07:30:00 pm »
We do hunt them and we’ve been shooting them once they are trapped, but that really affects the local deer population in a negative way.

How so?

Nevertheless, you should not be asking an electronics forum for advice on this topic. You need to ask an appropriate expert authority, such as state animal control authorities.
 
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Offline Zero999

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #18 on: January 13, 2025, 07:31:57 pm »
Definitely shoot it in the head, as others have said.

Regarding CO2: I believe it depends on the concentration. At very high levels, it's more humane, since it has an asphyxiating effect, similar to an inert gas such as nitrogen, but at lower levels, it causes a feeling of drowning, which is much more unpleasant.

What are you going to do with the carcass?

If it's disease free, I would eat it. Obviously I'd make sure it's very well cooked and I wouldn't sell the meat for a profit, but give it to friends and family. Dog food can be made from part people don't want to eat and the bones can be ground to make bonemeal for the garden. I would feel more comfortable eating a wild animal, than one from a large farm where it has been pumped full of hormones and antibiotics.

If it was diseased, then I'd either burn it, or dig a very deep hole and bury it. It would be expensive to pay someone to dispose of it for you.

Oh and one important thing is: don't eat the brain and spinal cord as they can harbour nasty prion diseases which don't get destroyed by cooking.
 

Offline golden_labels

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #19 on: January 13, 2025, 07:35:35 pm »
I agree this topic doesn’t belong to an electronics forum. OP seem to have no experiemce and knowledge in the subjects involved. So it’s likely to end up not in humane killing, but in grotesque animal cruelty or injury to humans. However, there are two things to say regarding gases and humans.

One important for own safety. It’s not only argon. Any biologically inert gas has the same effect and may lead to consciousness loss so fast you’ll not have time to realize something is off. That includes nitrogen. Remember while urbexing. Remember if working with gases in closed rooms. Half a minute and you’re out. If nobody’s around, you are dead or worse.

The second thing: while causing consciousness loss is relatively easy, death is not. If there is enough oxygen in mixture, carbon dioxide buildup in blood will continue and that may cause the animal — including a human — to regain consciousness. If not, it is very likely leading not to death, but permanent damage to organs. Most notably the brain. Which is why you neither want building amateur asphyxation chambers for animals, nor trying the helium bag on yourself.
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Offline Gyro

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #20 on: January 13, 2025, 07:39:52 pm »
I know carbon dioxide is used but here is a fact most folks don't know. The buildup of carbon dioxide is the trigger mechanism that causes you to take the next breath. It IS NOT the lack of oxygen. The build up of carbon dioxide will trigger the suffocation reflex and isn't pretty. Argon is absolutely a humane euthanizing gas. The subject will die from lack of oxygen but will slip into a peaceful uncontious state first without any sense of anxiety or trauma. This lesson was learned years ago when scuba divers unknowingly swapped their argon tank (used for drysuit inflation) with their bail-out air tank. This happened when divers were using 'what they could rig up cheaply'. It is an almost impossible mistake to make in recent times.

Yes, the lack of a blood oxygen sensor in most higher animals, including humans, is a bit of an evolutionary oversight which can cause death by hypoxia. It is a particular danger where Liquid Nitrogen dewars are being used in labs. There's no need to use Argon at atmospheric pressure, in fact it might feel a bit dense when breathed. Argon is used when diving because Nitrogen becomes narcotic at depth. Nitrogen is cheaper and just as effective - most of the atmosphere is Nitrogen anyway, you just need to lose the oxygen and keep a small flow going to prevent a CO2 buildup. If anything, the pig would go out on a bit of a hypoxic high.
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Offline Doctorandus_P

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #21 on: January 13, 2025, 08:01:30 pm »
Feral pigs have become a quite huge problem in some area's of the US. From what I understand those pigs are a hybrid with the sturdyness of wild pigs, with fast breeding rate of the domesticated pigs. Shooting seems to be the best option. I've seen a bunch of youtube video's, and when shot properly death seems to be instant.

For the bigger picture, with "normal" hunting, you can keep their numbers down, but you won't get rid of the problem. I've also seen a few youtube video's about a more thorough approach. Apparently the idea is to feed them for a while without hunting, so they get more comfortable and relaxed, and after some time (a few months I think) the feeding pen gets remotely closed when it's verified that all the animals (including piglets) are in the pen. Apparently (according to the youtuber who made that promotional video) it works so good that you're completely rid of the problem altogether. But I guess that eventually pigs will migrate back into your area.

But attempting to DIY some electrocution gadget is not going to work.
 

Online jpanhalt

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #22 on: January 13, 2025, 09:58:14 pm »
CO2 v. nitrogen v. argon

CO2 causes hyperventilation and a feeling of suffocation.  We once had a walk-in incubator for blood cultures that had 5% CO2.  You got in and got out pretty quickly.

Nitrogen and argon are both great asphyxiants.  Neither causes a sensation of suffocation, but nitrogen is probably better.  There are very few reports from those who have been asphyxiated with either, as expected.  So, this is theory.  Nitrogen is more soluble and causes  narcosis (e.g., raptors of the deep), probably by interfering with nerve junctions.  Argon probably doesn't.  Those states using asphyxiation for capital punishment have chosen nitrogen.   It's also cheaper.  I don't think the complexity of using either to off a feral pig is justified. 
 

Offline IanB

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #23 on: January 13, 2025, 10:14:15 pm »
Nitrogen and argon are both great asphyxiants.  Neither causes a sensation of suffocation, but nitrogen is probably better.

I don't think we can use the word "better". Suffocation in an oxygen-deprived atmosphere is a significant cause of industrial accents. A worker enters an enclosed space like the interior of a tank and collapses unconscious without a word. A co-worker gets worried and follows after to rescue their colleague. Drops dead also.
 

Offline Marco

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Re: Feral pig euthanasia
« Reply #24 on: January 13, 2025, 10:28:42 pm »
I think it's reasonable to create small scale high expansion foam protocols as an alternative to shooting for captured pests, using minimally adapted foam firefighting equipment (COTS and relatively cheap) and used by lay people. Feral pigs are a huge problem and being caught on a massive scale.

Obviously the protocol should be developed by experts, but getting overly zealous with equipment and operator certification but somehow being perfectly okay with guns seems weird to me. Guns aren't exactly safe.
 


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