Testing Refrigeration Trucks for the Emergency Evacuation of Companion Animals

• Published in: Journal of applied animal welfare science 2015-10, Vol.18 (4), p.398-403
• Main Authors: Langman, Vaughan A, Ellifrit, Nancy, Sime, Debra, Rowe, Mike, Hogue, Allan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: alveolar gas; animal welfare; Animals; asphyxia; Carbon dioxide; Carbon Dioxide - analysis; cats; Cats - physiology; crates; dogs; Dogs - physiology; Emergencies; hypercapnia; hypoxia; Motor Vehicles - standards; Oxygen; Oxygen - analysis; Partial Pressure; Pets; Pets - physiology; physiology-pulmonary; Refrigeration; refrigerators; Respiratory Physiological Phenomena; respiratory quotient; respiratory system; Time Factors; trucks
• ISSN: 1532-7604; 1088-8705; 1532-7604
• DOI: 10.1080/10888705.2015.1042153

The purpose of this study was to quantify the changes in oxygen (O ₂) and carbon dioxide (CO ₂) in sealed refrigerator trucks scheduled to be used for transporting companion animals (dogs and cats) during an emergency evacuation. A total of 122 nonhuman animals (total weight = 1,248 kg) housed in individual crates were loaded into a 16-m refrigeration truck. Once they were loaded, the doors were closed and the percentages of O ₂ and CO ₂ were measured every 5 min by O ₂ and CO ₂ analyzers, and they were used to quantify the changes in gas pressure in the sealed truck. CO ₂ had a much higher-than-predicted increase, and O ₂ had a higher-than-predicted decrease. These 2 pressures in combination with the functionality of the respiratory system will limit the animal's ability to load O ₂, and over time, they will initiate asphyxia or suffocation. Over time, the partial pressure of oxygen (P O₂) in the sealed truck will decrease, causing hypoxia, and the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (P CO₂) will increase, causing hypercapnia.