Research Summary
The Report on the DTS: Diathermic Syncope® controlled trials was completed in April 2021 after 12 years of trials and research.
It has been prepared by Dr Alison Small, BVM&S, CVPH(MH), DVPH(MH), PhD, GCPS(FSRA) principal research scientist at the CSIRO McMaster Laboratory in Armidale, NSW.
She is a leading livestock welfare researcher in a number of areas including neonatal development and survival, alternatives to painful husbandry procedures, pain mitigation for livestock, and humane slaughter.
Alison graduated as a veterinarian from the Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies, Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1993 and spent 12 years working in mixed, mainly livestock practice.
She holds a PhD from the University of Bristol, UK, a Graduate Certificate in Food Safety Risk Assessment from the University of Maryland, USA, and was a founding member of the European College of Veterinary Public Health.
This report has now been published by Meat and Livestock Australia with support from the Australian Meat Processor Corporation.
Animal Ethics Committee Approval
The first phase of research was conducted under the approval of the Victorian Department of Economic Development, Jobs Transport and Resources (DJEDJTR) Wildlife and Small Institutions Animal Ethics Committee (WSI AEC), reference 30.16.
The second phase, the pre-commercial scale validation, and third phase rotary box evaluation were approved by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Wildlife and Large Animal Ethics Committee (CWLA, AEC) reference 2019-17
The linked attachment is 30 pages and contains the full contents of the CSIRO Report published in April 2021, titled “Final Report DTS: Diathermic Syncope ® controlled trials.
It can be read by clicking on this Icon below.
“DTS controlled trials were completed in April 2021 after 12 years of research conducted by the Australian CSIRO Scientific Research Organisation.”
Additional Research
Prior to this report being published in 2021 a number of key research reports have been published on the use of the DTS system while research was conducted over a 12-year period.
RAULT, J. L, HEMSWORTH, P.H., CAKEBREAD, P.L MELLOR, D.J & JOHNSON, C.B. 2014. Evaluation of microwave energy as a humane stunning technique based on electroencephalography *EEG) of anaethetised cattle. Animal Welfare, 23, 391-400
SMALL, A., LEA, J., NIEMEYER, D., HUGHES, J., MCLEAN, D. & RALPH, J. 2019. Development of a microwave stunning system for cattle 2: Preliminary observations on behavioural responses and EEG. Research in Veterinary Science, 122, 72-80.
SMALL, A., MCLEAN, D., KEATES, H., OWEN, J. S. & RALPH, J. 2013a. Preliminary investigations into the use of microwave energy for reversible stunning of sheep. Animal Welfare, 22, 291-296.
SMALL, A., MCLEAN, D., NIEMEYER, D., LEA, J., HUGHES, J. & RALPH, J. 2015. Dielectric induction of temporary insensibility in cattle - animal trials. Sydney: Meat & Livestock Australia.
SMALL, A., MCLEAN, D., OWEN, J. S. & RALPH, J. H. 2013b. Electromagnetic induction of insensibility in animals: a review. Animal Welfare, 22, 287-290