Don’t use Pacoma to Kill Animals

In June 2022, we learned horses were killed by getting disinfectant, Pacoma, injected without anesthesia at Kasamatsu Racecourse in Gifu. With this information, we submitted a demand letter to improve this situation to the Gifu Prefectural Racing Association, the governor Yoshida, and the National Association of Racing. On June 30th, we received their response. 

Gifu prefecture replied that they had requested Kasamatsu Racecourse to make a change, to which  Kasamatsu Racecourse responded with the following new policies:  

• Horses will be administered an analgesic to get sedated first, then, will move forward with the procedure while administering anesthesia as well as a muscle relaxant drug. 
• The entire procedure from stunning to killing will be closely monitored in light of animal welfare.
• If issues are observed during the procedure, anesthesia as well as muscle relaxant will be additionally administered in order to minimize animals’ suffering 
•  Staff will make sure animals are completely deceased. 

Horses have gone through tremendous sufferings as they have been killed by Pacoma. However, they will at least get knocked out unconscious by anesthesia first before getting slaughtered. We appreciate Kasamatsu Racecourse for having accepted our request. 

We also thank those who raised their voice to report this horrific practice. If you have witnessed abuse of farmed animals, please let us know.

It is inappropriate to kill horses with Pacoma 

Pacoma is not an approved method to kill horses per the the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code or the AVMA guidelines for the euthanasia of animals. 

Article 7.6 of the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code covers appropriate killing methods without pain. The general principles in Article 7.6.1, it reads“when animals are killed for disease control purposes, methods used should result in immediate death or immediate loss of consciousness lasting until death; when loss of consciousness is not immediate, induction of unconsciousness should be non-aversive or the least aversive possible and should not cause avoidable anxiety, pain, distress or suffering in animals.” It also states that veterinarians should determine and supervise the implementation of the most appropriate killing method to ensure that animals are killed without avoidable pain and distress.

Moreover, AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals:2020 Edition states disinfectants are unacceptable methods for killing uder any circumstances. 

As the pharmaceutical manufacturer and Japan Poison Information Center confirmed, there is no anesthetic effect in Pacoma as it’s merely a disinfectant. 

In fact, Scientists Center for Animal Welfare in the United States perceives Pacoma to cause the highest level of pain possible to animals.

In Japan, the Japanese Association of Laboratory Animal Facilities and Faculty of Life Science in Kyoto Sangyo University also considers Pacoma as an inappropriate agent for euthniesia. 

It’s so clear that Pacoma is an inappropriate method for killing horses, especially when anesthesia is not used along with.  

Responsibilities when using animals 

Standards relating to the Methods of Destruction of Animals in Animal Protection Act states that“the method of causing the Animal to Be Destroyed to lose consciousness and stopping its cardiac function or lung function in an irreversible manner by a chemical or physical method, using a method that minimizes the Pain or Distress of the Animal to Be Destroyed as much as possible, or shall be any other normal method that is socially accepted.” Not many people would agree Pacoma is socially accepted since this method causes extreme agony. We need to transition out this method and start using an alternative method that causes no pain to animals. In addition,  Article 41-2 in the same Act also states that in the case where an animal is provided for a scientific use, a method that minimizes the pain and distress to the animal as much as possible must be used, within the limit necessary for such use. Accordingly, some veterinarian associations were advised to use anesthesias when slaughtering large animals in farms. On January 21st in 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Environment issued a joint letter regarding proper methods to slaughter livestock animals in farms, which reads that while it is difficult to judge whether or not individual case is considered to be animal abuse, animal abuse in general should not occur in society, legally speaking as well as morally speaking. It’s also encouraged to report to police when necessary. In the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code, the proper methods to slaughter horses are either using stunning guns and bleeding or Barbiturates injections. 

It is our responsibility to avoid pain as much as possible when using animals. Even if it’s a conventional way that is accessible and cheap, we must not use disinfectant to slaughter animals.