Smoothing out the circle of life

It’s a fact of life that everything dies. And sometimes death occurs at the hands of people engaged in the seemingly peaceful activity of farming. I’m pretty sure I’ve stepped on a few ants in the past ten months. But the type of death going on that had me concerned today occurred on a larger scale.

Animals that are classified as ‘pests’ such as raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, geese, and their insect counterparts like Japanese beetles, ants, aphids, etc. are often killed for the convenience of those owning the land and trying to grow produce on it. The killing of animals makes me uncomfortable, but I am a meat-eater and my continued existence doubtless causes the death of hundreds of animals every year. But I’m at least able to assuage my conscience by knowing regulations in place that prevent the inhumane slaughter of livestock to some degree. Needless to say, I heartily support efforts to raise animals and kill animals humanely and compassionately.

Drowning has sometimes been seen as a “peaceful” and “painless” way to die. It has a certain degree of passivity and doesn’t create a mess of blood and gore. Certainly in the past it’s been used to eliminate pests, and it’s highly probably that it’s a method used today.

I have never gone experienced anything close to drowning. But like almost every kid, I at times engaged in competitions to see how long I could hold my breath, or how far I could swim underwater at one time. And I wouldn’t call the burning sensation in my lungs peaceful or painless.

The American Veterinarians Medical Association would agree. In 1993 and every year since they have affirmed their stance that drowning is not a humane method of euthanasia.

Previously it had been believed that the rise of CO2 in the bloodstream would render the subject unconscious and incapable of feeling pain, and that thus drowning was painless. In 1983 an article published by Gilbert and Gofton stated that drowning animals resulted in death by carbon-dioxide-induced narcosis.

Since then, new evidence has been introduced. The study mentioned above for instance did not monitor the blood levels in their experiment. Subsequent experiments have. Eventually, levels of CO2 result in unconsciousness but not quickly. In fact, there is a spike in adrenaline or norepinephrine indicating stress. Survivors of incidents involving near-drowning report searing chest pain, panic, and terror. Imitated and intentional, near-drowning, most commonly referred to as ‘water-boarding’ is classified by the UN as torture.

I hope killing animals doesn't become a necessary practice, but if it does, I am confident that there is a better method than drowning.