Foam depopulation or foaming is a means of mass killing farm animals by spraying

foam Foams are two-phase materials science, material systems where a gas is dispersed in a second, non-gaseous material, specifically, in which gas cells are enclosed by a distinct liquid or solid material. Note, this source focuses only on liquid ...

over a large area to obstruct breathing and ultimately cause suffocation. It is usually used to attempt to stop disease spread. Foaming has also been used to kill farm animals after backlogs in slaughtering occurred during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Foam depopulation has been used on

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

and

pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

and has seen initial research for use on

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

. It has faced criticism from some groups. Some veterinarians have called it inhumane, along with many

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

and

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures ...

organizations who cite the pain caused by suffocation or the harm experienced by the stray survivors.

History

Foam depopulation was developed in 2006 in response to a 2004 outbreak of

H7N2 Influenza A virus subtype H7N2 (A/H7N2) is a subtype of the species Influenza A virus. This subtype is one of several sometimes called bird flu virus. H7N2 is considered a low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) virus. With this in mind, H5 ...

. It received conditional approval the same year in the US by the USDA-APHIS. In the 2015 H5N2 outbreak in the US, foaming was the primary method used to kill poultry en masse with it employed at 66% of locations. However, since 2019, foaming has increasingly been replaced in the US with

ventilation shutdown Ventilation shutdown (VSD) is a means to kill livestock by suffocation and heat stroke in which airways to the building in which the livestock are kept are cut off. It is used for mass killing — usually to prevent the spread of diseases such as a ...

, a controversial method which relies on suffocation and heatstroke after shutting off airways into a building. In 2020, the

caused supply chain disruption and meat packing closures. This led to a backlog in slaughtering—leading to many locations using foaming or ventilation shutdown to mass kill farm animals outside of the typical slaughtering process.

Criticism

Foam depopulation has been called inhumane by organizations such as the

ASPCA The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing animal cruelty. Based in New York City since its inception in 1866, the organization's mission is "to provide effective mea ...

, Animal Justice, and Mercy For Animals, among others. Some veterinarians have also questioned the ethics of the method. Concerns include the pain felt during suffocation and the stress or other effects on stray survivors seeing those who have died around them. Other groups, such as the

Center for Biological Diversity The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit membership organization known for its work protecting endangered species through legal action, scientific petitions, creative media and grassroots activism. It was founded in 1989 by Kieran Suck ...

, have raised issues about the usage of

PFAS Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (also PFAS, PFASs, and informally referred to as "forever chemicals") are a group of synthetic organofluorine chemical compounds that have multiple fluorine atoms attached to an alkyl chain; there are 7 millio ...

from farms using

firefighting foam Firefighting foam is a foam used for fire suppression systems, fire suppression. Its role is to cool the fire and to coat the fuel, preventing its contact with oxygen, thus achieving suppression of the combustion. Firefighting foam was invented b ...

to accomplish foam depopulation. Additionally, some researchers have raised environmental concerns about water-based foam's resource usage. Amounts vary, but using 30,000 liters of water to produce foam is typical. Water is usually the majority of the foam with foam concentrate making up 1% of it.

Global usage

While first developed in the United States, foaming has seen use elsewhere. For instance, usage is common in Israel and Australia. Some countries' governing bodies have also given support more directly to foam depopulation. For instance, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has purchased equipment for foaming that can be issued out. The United States National Veterinary Stockpile maintains foam depopulation units as well.

References

{{Animal rights Livestock Ethically disputed business practices towards animals

History

Criticism

Global usage

See also

References