Survey of veterinarians suggests knowledge gaps regarding animal disposal following pentobarbital euthanasia of cattle and small ruminants

Veterinarians, animal owners, and the animal food industry share responsibility to properly dispose of euthanized animals and prevent pentobarbital from entering the animal food sup­ply. To better understand current veterinary practices regard­ing disposal of animals following pentobarbital euthanasia so that targeted outreach could be developed, the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) and the American Veterinary Medi­cal Association (AVMA) conducted a survey of AVMA members on euthanasia and subsequent disposal practices. This presen­tation will focus on the results of the survey as they apply to disposal of cattle and small ruminants and resulting planned outreach efforts.