The three key response goals for any disease outbreak are to: (1) detect, control, and contain the disease in animals as quickly as possible; (2) eradicate the disease using strategies that seek to stabilize animal agriculture, the food supply, the economy, and to protect public health and the environment; and (3) provide science, risk-based approaches, and systems to facilitate continuity of business for noninfected animals and non-contaminated animal products (NAHEMS, 2015).
While prevention and bio-exclusion of disease is everyone’s goal, there is no doubt that depopulation is a necessary and effective means of response to protect the livestock industry and meat supply. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) defines depopulation as the rapid destruction of a population of animals in response to urgent circumstances with as much consideration given to the welfare of the animals as practicable (2019). According to the National Animal Health Emergency Management System (NAHEMS) the goals of depopulation are to (a) provide humane treatment of animals at all times until they are culled; (b) select and use an acceptable form of depopulation to be executed as quickly, efficiently, and humanely as possible; (c) minimize the negative emotional and psychological impact on animal owners, caretakers, and the public; (d) prevent adulterated or potentially adulterated meat products from entering the food chain; and (e) prevent or mitigate disease spread within the country.
The use of inert gasses for euthanasia, slaughter, and as a depopulation method for livestock has been extensively studied. Death from exposure to inert gassing is considered the most humane method for euthanasia and mass depopulation currently available, however, inert gases have not traditionally been used due to the difficulties in managing the gas concentrations as required to adequately eliminate oxygen (<2%).
High expansion nitrogen foam surrounds the animal in large bubbles filled with nitrogen, this creates pockets of nitrogen gas around the animal thereby displacing all the available oxygen. This ensures no oxygen is available for the animal to breathe, causing death by anoxia due to exposure to the inert gas ( nitrogen).
High-expansion nitrogen foam has been demonstrated effective, efficient, and humane for poultry and swine. There are also ongoing efforts to use this technology for cattle, small ruminants, and other livestock species.
Agricultural Emergency Services Inc. (AES Inc.), led by Dan Hougentogler, continues to develop nitrogen foaming technology for the depopulation of livestock in North America. The AES Inc. system is designed to require minimal maintenance and be rapidly deployed. It is much simpler than any nitrogen foam system (NFS) on the market and utilizes components readily available in the North American marketplace. It relies on proven designs, equipment, and systems utilized on fire trucks and emergency response vehicles. The AES Inc. system does not include any fancy electronics, electronic control valving or specialized parts that are prone to fail during emergency responses.
The system is very efficient ( regarding gas and water use), user-friendly, robust, and cost-effective. It is currently available for the depopulation of swine and we anticipate the provision of an integrated reel unit for the rapid depopulation of floor-reared poultry in the near future.
Leadership
Daniel P. Hougentogler
Dan graduated from the University of Delaware (UD) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Technology. Dan is currently the president of Hougentogler Enterprises, LLC an animal disease response consulting firm, that specializes in poultry diseases, emergency response, biosecurity education, implementation, and stakeholder integration. Dan is a current board member of Agricultural Emergency Services a manufacturing and response group specializing in Nitrogen foam depopulation equipment. Dan has served on HPAI incident management teams in roles such as disease management branch director, depopulation subject matter expert, virus elimination subject matter expert, and as a trainer for depopulation and biosecurity. Dan has worked in the area of poultry disease response and research for the University of Delaware from 2007- 2022. During this time his programs and research included depopulation, viral load reduction treatments, and regional and international emergency response training programs. Since 2009 Dan has been involved with international trainings such as UD's Emergency Poultry Disease Response and Regionalization Symposium where Dan instructed and demonstrated the best tools and options for poultry disease management. Dan was involved in the 2015 HPAI outbreak in Minnesota training response contractors on proper depopulation and personal protective equipment protocols techniques.
Jeff Hill
Jeff is the President of Livestock Welfare Strategies (LWS) having spent the past thirty years serving the livestock and agri-food industries. During his career he has held various positions within production agriculture, the meat processing industry, engineering services, research organizations, governmental affairs, and regulatory agencies. Jeff Hill leads an R&D program to improve euthanasia and mass depopulation technologies. Over the past decades, these efforts have included captive bolt technologies, CO2 gassing systems, nitrogen whole house gassing, nitrogen high expansion foam, and electrocution systems ranging from battery-operated electrical systems to high voltage high throughput electrocution systems. Livestock Welfare Strategies provides training for academia, industry organizations, and companies within agriculture and agri-food on euthanasia and mass depopulation systems. This includes collaborating on the development of training models and audit/certification programs for operator proficiency. Livestock Welfare Strategies is currently consulting for numerous universities, state/provincial Departments of Agriculture, industry organizations, and private companies for developing their livestock emergency programs and response capabilities.
Taylor Long
Taylor was born and raised on a large poultry farm in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, which is still in operation. In 2002, Taylor assisted In the depopulation, disposal, and cleaning/disinfection of 42 barns on his family farm during a widespread outbreak of HPAI. Between 2004 and 2012, Taylor owned and operated a poultry litter brokerage service which also assisted several integrators and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) with carbon sourcing and logistics during isolated mass mortality incidences. In 2018, Taylor worked as a subcontractor under the direction of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture (NCDA) in the clean-up efforts of more than 200 poultry barns after flooding caused by Hurricane Florence. In 2020, Taylor helped with the development and utilization of NCDA’s CO2 depopulation systems, successfully euthanizing more than 160,000 swine due to supply chain issues resulting from COVID-19. During the latest outbreak of HPAI in 2022/2023, Taylor worked under the guidance of USDA in 8 different states and completed numerous mortality disposal jobs ranging in size from backyard flocks to 4 million bird facilities. Taylor has a vast knowledge of agricultural enterprises and understands the importance of virus elimination and producer asset protection, along with the many other challenges that can be faced during these difficult situations.
Adam Long
Adam is a Director of AES. He procured equipment while helping to design and fabricate products used for the company’s operation. He brings a profound agricultural background and has been a part of the poultry industry for 25 years. Adam is also an owner of F&L Environmental, which has completed many large-scale poultry mortality disposal and swine depopulation projects.
Gary A. Flory
For more than 20 years, Gary has helped clients with a range of services including animal disease and natural disaster response, agricultural emergency planning, research, and emergency response training. Gary has conducted training, given presentations, and deployed on animal disease outbreaks to many countries including Timor Leste, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Tunisia, Korea, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, and Azerbaijan. He supports many organizations including the United States Department of Agriculture, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). Gary currently serves on FAO’s African Swine Fever Global Pool of Expertise.
Francis (Trip) French
Trip is a member and owner of F&L Environmental LLC, an agricultural emergency service contracting company that specializes in large-scale composting and depopulation services. For F&L he handles the day-to-day administrative functions and office upkeep. In 2019, Trip attended the University of Maine composting school to gain a better understanding of the composting process and challenges associated with large animal carcass management. In the spring of 2020, he supported the North Carolina Department of Agriculture in poultry composting during an avian influenza outbreak. Later that year, he aided North Carolina in the depopulation of 180,000 swine using CO2 due to supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19. During the high-path avian influenza outbreaks in 2022-2023, he worked extensively with the USDA in multiple states to provide composting services. Most recently, Trip became a director of Agricultural Emergency Services (AES), Inc. to achieve a practical and more humane depopulation process.
Hubbel French
Hubbel is a founding member and owner of F & L Environmental, LLC, an agricultural emergency service contracting company that specializes in large-scale composting and depopulation services. In 2018, he was deployed to North Carolina to aid in the clean-up and composting of 250 poultry barns due to hurricane flooding. In 2019, Hubbel attended the Maine Composting School to further his knowledge. In the spring of 2020, he assisted the North Carolina Department of Agriculture in poultry composting during an avian influenza outbreak. Later that year, he aided North Carolina in the depopulation of 180,000 swine using CO2 due to supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19. During the high-path avian influenza outbreaks in 2022-2023, he worked extensively with the USDA in multiple states to provide composting services. Most recently, Hubbel became a director of Agricultural Emergency Services (AES), Inc. to develop a better depopulation method to improve animal welfare.
For information on how we can help you please contact us.
Agricultural Emergency Services Inc.
PO Box 7223
Newark De 19714