The AVMA endorses roasting animals alive. What would you do?

Can you make
better decisions
than the AVMA?

Would YOU approve of this practice?

ABOVE: LEFT: Actual experimentation footage used by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) to approve Ventilation Shutdown Plus (VSD+). Study paid for by the US Poultry and Egg Association. Footage: North Carolina State University via Animal Outlook.

Why would the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) approve of killing millions of animals this way?

It’s a fair question. But as entire flocks of chickens are being roasted alive for hours in super-heated sheds with no ventilation, the AVMA won’t answer. This brutal mass extermination method is ventilation shutdown plus (VSD+), used by the poultry industry in response to the US bird flu outbreak. And it’s becoming a standard disease control method on factory farms.

In 2022, Animal Outlook exposed these grisly experiments the AVMA used to approve VSD+. Why would the top US veterinary authority endorse this?

Veterinarians take an oath to protect animals and relieve them from suffering, but VSD+ demonstrably causes intense suffering as animals gasp and writhe in distress in unbearable temperatures before they die from suffocation, heat stroke, and organ failure. The process takes grueling, painful hours.

In spite of that, the 2019 AVMA Guidelines for Depopulation of Animals explicitly permits VSD+ in certain circumstances—so if a few chickens contract bird flu, AVMA guidelines suggest it’s okay to roast the entire flock alive to prevent spreading the disease. In its shocking endorsement of VSD+, the AVMA leans on experiments that not only showcase animal cruelty but also rely on funding from meat and egg industry lobbyists. As Animal Outlook exposed by obtaining public records and footage from these experiments, the impact on animals is nothing short of horrifying.

The AVMA claims to “protect, promote and advance the needs of all veterinarians and those they serve,” but endorses VSD+ on the grounds of a single meat and egg industry-funded study.

These experiments are horrendous, and also point to a greater and escalating animal welfare crisis. A shocking 94% of animals raised for food (including those who produce milk or eggs) are confined in factory farms. Because animals raised on factory farms live in crowded and unsanitary conditions, disease can travel fast. That’s why these environments can so quickly become breeding grounds for the emergence and spread of infectious diseases like bird flu that can travel from animals to humans. Rather than reduce crowding and improve sanitation, factory farms are increasingly opting for extreme control measures like VSD+, with AVMA’s endorsement.

Factory farms are also notorious abusers of animals raised for food. So, why would the AVMA—the country’s leading advocate for veterinarians and the animals they’ve sworn to protect—base a policy decision on research funded by an industry that profits off animal abuse? Thousands of caring citizens and concerned veterinarians are demanding answers. The AVMA must change its endorsement of VSD+ to align with the best interest of animals—not those who abuse them.