Cooper J, Mason G, Raj M
Department of Zoology, University of Oxford.
Vet Rec. 1998 Sep 26;143(13):359-61. doi: 10.1136/vr.143.13.359.
High concentrations of carbon dioxide are commonly used to kill mink before their pelts are removed. The aversiveness of this procedure was investigated by using a passive avoidance technique. Eight mink were trained to obtain a reward (a novel object) by entering a chamber which could be filled with carbon dioxide, as under commercial conditions (over 80 per cent by volume). In the absence of carbon dioxide, mink entered the chamber within a mean (sd) of 16 (2.1) seconds and spent 45 (12) per cent of the next 10 minutes interacting with the novel object. When there was carbon dioxide in the test chamber, the mink would not enter it and coughed and recoiled from the chamber's entrance instead. It was concluded that the mink detected and avoided high concentrations of carbon dioxide, and that if mink are to be killed humanely, less aversive techniques should be used.
在貂皮被剥下之前，通常使用高浓度二氧化碳将其杀死。本研究采用被动回避技术，对该过程的厌恶性进行了调查。八只貂接受训练，通过进入一个可以充满二氧化碳的腔室来获得奖励（一个新物体），就像在商业条件下那样（体积超过80%）。在没有二氧化碳的情况下，貂平均（标准差）在16（2.1）秒内进入腔室，并在接下来的10分钟内花费45（12）%的时间与新物体互动。当测试腔室中有二氧化碳时，貂不会进入，而是咳嗽并从腔室入口退缩。研究得出结论，貂能检测并避开高浓度二氧化碳，若要人道地杀死貂，应采用厌恶性较小的技术。
