What is the best way to euthanise your koi?

There are various suggestion and arguments, for instance:

1. Put it in a plastic bag and then in the freezer. Arguments: The fish will go to sleep in a humane way and die painlessly. Also, the fish will suffer because it takes a few hours to die and is not kind.

2. Flush it down the toilet: Arguments: The fish will suffocate in human waste only after a while is it is inhumane, the fish will suffer and it is cruel. It is quick and easy. It may contaminate the environment or the chemicals used by the Municipality at the sewerage farms will kill the fish immediately.

3. Take a spade and chop the head off or slid the throat with a knife. Arguments: It is quick and easy with immediate death or it is barbaric and cruel.

4. Put it in a bowl of Chlorine or high dosages of Potassium: Arguments: It is cheap, it prevents a bad smell afterwards, it is quick, it is not quick enough(takes about 10 minutes), the fish suffer unnecessarily for 10 minutes.

5. Bury the fish live. Arguments: It is cruel to bury it live because it will suffer, cats or dogs may dig it out.

6. Just put it in a bag and throw it in the waste bin. Arguments: The fish is cold blooded and cannot feel any pain anyway or you extend the suffering time dramatically which is cruel. It creates a health risk.

7. Throw it in a solution of either baking soda, alcohol, ethanol or clove oil. Arguments: It is quick and limit suffering or it is expensive and unnecessary and you don't have it available.


WHAT DO YOU SAY?

Interesting and can lead to quite a debate

From what you posted, the Barbaric way seems to be the quickest and best.

Option 8.....Invite your friends and have a fish braai.

I prefer method 7. He simply goes to sleep.

Admin wrote:

[b]fish is cold blooded and cannot feel any pain anyway

It's hard for fish to arouse our compassion. They can't show their agony by screaming. They don't have the sad eyes of a seal pup or a dog.
In an article in The Adelaide Advertiser, Professor Bill Runciman, professor of anaesthesia and intensive care at Adelaide University, was quoted as saying:

"Fish constitute the greatest source of confused thinking and inconsistency on earth at the moment with respect to pain. You will get people very excited about dolphins because they are mammals, and about horses and dogs, if they are not treated properly. At the same time you will have fishing competitions on the River Murray at which thousands of people snare fish with hooks and allow them to asphyxiate on the banks, which is a fairly uncomfortable and miserable death."
Since fish have the same nerve endings, the same chemicals for transmitting and blocking pain, and the same receptor sites for anxiety-reducing chemicals as mammals, it is absolute nonsense to suggest that fish do not feel pain or fear.

I would go for either clove oil to put it to sleep and if I don't have it, to slid the throut is probably the quickest way although it appears to be barbaric. Therefater I will throw it in a bag filled with chlorine to prevent health problems or bad smells.

Hi,

Ek gebruik naeltjie olie, gebruik so 10-20 druppels per 1 liter water.
Meng die naeltjie olie goed met die water in 'n groot genoeg bak en plaas die vis binne in die bak. Die vis sal dan aan die slaap raak en as jy dit vir so uur in die bak laat sal dit nie weer wakker word nie.

Various studies were conducted whereby fish were injured and acted abnormal and showed a lot of distress. After treatment with a pain killer like morphine, the behaviour returned to normal.

I think that due to the lack of absolute proof, we should assume that they might feel pain. I agree that Clove oil is the best way to euthanise koi. With very large koi, I experienced that 20 drops is sometimes too little. There are also various strenghts from batch to batch or from different suppliers. Rather too much than too little, and it is not that expensive at R 15.00 / 10 ml.

Ek gebruik 'n produk met die naam Phenoxetol. Mieskien is dit ook naaltjie olie...wie weet. R 70 vir 200ml - 0.6ml /1 L