Proper practice of euthanasia of companion animals regarding the international and national regulations

摘要

In everyday small animal care, euthanasia performed of companion animals is not uncommon, and the professional, humane performance is a reasonable requirement from the owners. The authors review the relating international and national legislation and provisions which regulate the possibilities, methods and means of animal euthanasia, highlighting the importance of initial sedation and the loss of consciousness, in order that the procedure causes the least possible pain and suffering to the animal. All international provisions agree that the intravenous administration of barbiturates, more specifically pentobarbital, is the most recommended method of performing euthanasia of dogs, cats and other small animals. Due to its mechanism of action, this substance first gently anesthetises the animal, and with the increase of the dosage, it blocks the respiratory and circulatory system of the already unconscious patient. This makes pentobarbital the only substance used for performing euthanasia, which can be used as a single agent, without previous sedation by a different medicine. After summarizing the academic literature, the authors provide a practical guidance on the procedure of euthanasia, from the difficulties of decision -making, through the administrative tasks to the practicalities of performing euthanasia. The authors cover the ways of communication with the owners, the most common intramuscular anaesthetics used for premedication along with their practical use and dosage; the advantages, disadvantages, dosage and administrative requirements of the different substances used for performing euthanasia, and finally the different treatment possibilities of the corpus, such as cremation or burying. Based on their own experience the authors describe a detailed protocol for practicing veterinarians, which is compliant to the requirements of the relating regulations, and completely considers the interest of the animals and animal owners.