Document is current

Article History

Received: 28 November 2023

Accepted: 4 September 2024

First Online: 9 September 2024

Declarations

:

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

: All the experimental procedures were approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of Yunnan Agricultural University (Approval Code: 2022718, Approval Data: 8, July, 2022). The euthanasia process fully complies with local animal welfare laws, guidelines, and policies, and the process is as follows: (1) Anesthesia and Sedation: To minimize pain and distress, all sheep were anesthetized prior to euthanasia. The anesthetic used was xylazine, a common sedative in veterinary practice, and a dosage of 0.5 mg/kg body weight was administered intramuscularly. The dosage was calculated based on the animal’s weight to ensure effective sedation. (2) Monitoring Anesthetic Depth: After administering xylazine, the sheep were monitored to ensure they were fully sedated. We checked for signs of deep anesthesia, such as the absence of response to painful stimuli (e.g., pinch reflex), lack of corneal reflex, and muscle relaxation. (3) Euthanasia Procedure: Once deep anesthesia was confirmed, the sheep were euthanized by exsanguination.