ABSTRACT: Many people aren't aware that the cruel, horrific method of euthanasia by means of gas chambers and heartstick still exist in kill shelters. (UPDATE: I wrote this article some four years ago, to date only about 20 states have banned the use of gas chambers to "euthanize" shelter pets~July 12, 2014)
CONTENT: Having to put an animal down by euthanasia due to an serious illness is never, never an easy decision for the pet owner. We may feel guilty, like we're playing "God" and have no right to end the life of an animal companion that is part of our family, our child, in effect. But neither do we want our beloved "child" to needlessly suffer either. With sadness and overwhelming grief in our heart we take our beloved pet to our vet; we walk into the vet's office with our friend, and gently hold our companion animal for what will be the last time. We pet and caress our friend and talk soothingly, while trying to hold back the tears as the vet injects our friend with the liquid that won't cure but kill, an overdose of the blue or pink liquid, sodium phenobarbital.
I've had cats nearly all my life, since I was five, and while the vast majority of my pet companions, my babies, have lived long healthy lives, I've had to witness the above scene for those who were too ill to be helped, and I'm certain that many readers here who have owned pets have also had to go through this gut-wrenching agony of being faced with the decision of putting our pets down. However, the one solace we all should realize is that at least our pets were put down humanely, gently, and mercifully. Sadly, this isn't the case when it comes to the millions of shelter animals who must be killed due to overcrowding and lack of room for all the unwanted pets. For many municipal high kill shelters these animals are not euthanized humanely but cruelly and terrifyingly in gas chambers. Yes, sadly gas chambers do still exist. If these unwanted pets aren't killed in gas chambers, then another horrific way to "euthanize" them is what is called the heartstick method.
Prior to my involvement with the numerous Facebook groups that are geared toward ending this horrific, cruel way of euthanizing animals, I have to admit I wasn't aware that many unwanted shelter animals were killed by the thousands nationwide and on a weekly basis, if not sooner, via gas chamber or heartstick method. I assumed wrongly that the unwanted pets were put down humanely via lethal injection. One has to ask, why are these methods still being used in the first place? Is it cheaper, or a more convenient to kill animals this way? Surprisingly, the answer to the first part of the question is no, it's not cheaper. The irony is that It actually costs more to kill shelter pets via gas chamber than by lethal injection. According to the Change.org website, to kill an animal by carbon monoxide poisoning costs $4.98 per animal versus $2.29 per animal by lethal injection (EBI=Euthanasia By Injection). One can't help but think then that it's simply more "convenient" for these shelters to kill animals by gas chamber since more animals can be killed at the same time rather than individually by the injection method.
When news came out of what had occurred during Nazi Germany during World War II and it had become public knowledge of the gas chambers that were used to kill millions of Jews in concentration camps, the world was horrified to think that human beings could be killed like this. Therefore, for anyone who is an animal lover, it should be just as horrific to think that these poor innocent cats and dogs, whose only crime was that they weren't wanted, either by pet owners no longer wishing to keep their pet, or by the scores of pets that are allowed to breed, thus creating more litters of unwanted pets, to die this way. There are two types of "Euthanasia Chambers", as they are often called, that are used. The one type is a metal container about the size of a small garbage dumpster and are either top or side-loading, however, to my mind the worse are the "see-through" gas chambers where the gassing of the pets can not only be viewed by the shelter workers, but often by the other pets that are next in line to be killed.
I forced myself and watched with horror not long ago a video of one animal shelter in North Carolina where workers dragged out at least ten dogs to the gas chamber, piled the dogs inside, then locked it up. One of the workers then fed a tube from the carbon monoxide tank and hooked it up into the chamber, then walked away and turned the gas on. You HEAR the sounds of the dogs crying in agony while the gas is killing them. This is all being done while the still live dogs confined in large cages are watching and hearing all of this as their fellow canine friends are being killed. But the video isn't over yet. After an alloted time, the workers then begin dragging or carrying more dogs, mainly puppies out to the chamber, and place them right on top of the dead ones. The next scene shows the "chamber" being lifted up and the dead dogs are dumped in a garbage landfill. Don't be fooled due to the fact that this video was filmed in the late 1990's as this horrendous, cruel procedure of killing shelter animals by gas chamber still continues.
For those of you not familiar with the "heartstick" method of killing an animal, it's just as it sounds, that is a lethal injection is jabbed into the heart. The main problem however, is that quite often, the method and injection isn't done right, and the animal may be subjected to numerous injections before it's killed. Also, technically speaking, the proper method of the heartstick method of euthanizing an animal is to be done only after the animal has been sedated, yet it's not uncommon that sedation isn't used and such is the case in an undercover video Youtube video which was filmed in an animal shelter in Robeson County, North Carolina. The dogs are very much alive, often dragged one by one by long poles with a noose around their necks and done in such a fashion that it almost looks like an assembly line of killing these animals.
How many states still use the gas chamber method of killing animals? To my mind even one state that continues using this method is one too many. There are only about 18 or so states in the United States that to date that have completely banned the gas chamber method of euthanasia, including New York which only banned gas chambers in 2009. Many more states now have bills pending to be passed in legislation. One bill just recently passed by the Georgia House of Representatives and now is heading for approval in the state's Senate is Gracie's Law, H.B. 788. Gracie's Law was so named after a dog that was to be later named Amazing Grace. Grace had been placed in a gas chamber in the Liberty County Humane Shelter in Georgia with a number of other dogs, yet remarkably she survived the 30 minute ordeal of being gassed. If her survival seems a miracle, it's not, as many dogs can often survive the gassing process and have to be gassed all over again. To date however, some of the more "famous" states still using the gas chamber method are Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Utah, just to name a few. The worse state with the highest ratio of high kill shelters is North Carolina and is the top leader in the number of shelters statewide that uses this horrific form of "euthanizing". And what a joke to call it "euthanasia".
Now many people may wonder and ask, just why are are there so many unwanted pets in the first place to create this tragic situation and where so many unwanted pets are killed in shelters, whether by gas chamber, heartstick or even by injection to begin with? First, there are the puppy and kitten mills that are still prevalent and where animals are bred and bred and bred, over and over again. Thankfully more and more of these mill type breeders are being shut down. These breeders crank out animals like an assembly line and usually wind up in pet stores for sale. And don't kid yourself, it's not just a little local pet shop that sells puppies or kittens from these mills, but also some of those fancy high-priced pet stores in Beverly Hills, California where the likes of celebrities will get their dogs from, and they aren't even aware that those animals are coming from mills.
Then of course, you have people who get pedigree/purebreed cats or dogs, and insist on allowing their pet to breed. Many people are under the erroneous myth and assumption, that their pet, whether pedigree or not, should have at least one litter to make the pet happy and fulfilled. They are then further under the illusion that they easily find homes for the litters of puppies or kittens that are born.
The third reason for so many unwanted pets are those people who insist on adopting a pedigree/purebred pet from a licensed breeder just to have proper "papers" when if they took the trouble, would realize that there are just as many pedigree/purebred pets available at pet shelters and much cheaper. One can often get a purebred pet at a shelter for a mere $100 to $200, while buying from a breeder, can cost them up to $1,200 or even more.
Since I know a lot of pet rescuers, I remember it being told to me that for every single pet, cat or dog, to be adopted from every single shelter in the USA, EVERY single person would have to adopt at least nine pets. This is the grim statistics. Is is a wonder then so many unwanted animals are euthanized? Also, the sad fact is then that for every pet, whether a cat or dog that is bought from a breeder or pet shop, is literally condemning and putting a pet to death that is in a kill shelter.
By now, after reading this, you should feel frustrated, angry and sickened to realize that not only are so many unwanted pets killed routinely in shelters, but by horrific methods, so you may be asking what can I do?
1) First, one excellent suggestion I have is that if you aren't a member of Facebook already, by all means join. The are a lot of groups there that one can join that are dedicated for animal issues, particularly in giving voice to the issue of trying to get laws passed in all states to ban the use of gas chamber and heartstick methods of euthanasia. It is through these groups one can be informed of what is going on an almost daily basis, something one wouldn't have knowledge about by ordinary means, that is the media, since this type of news usually isn't told. There is even one group that was established to encourage Oprah Winfrey, a noted animal lover, to have a show dedicated in informing her viewers that the gas chamber and heartstick method of euthanasia still exists, and there is also a petition that one can sign and will eventually be sent to her.
2). From the sources I've listed below, particularly the Animal Law Coalition website one can find out if your particular state still uses the gas chamber/heartstick method of euthanasia. If you do find out that your state still practices this form of euthanasia, start a writing campaign to your elected officials, from assemblymen, congressmen, senators and governor to encourage them to pass a bill to ban the gas chamber/heartstick method and while yet, would still be considered killing unwanted animals, at least they should be euthanized via lethal injection. And needless to say, get your animal loving friends in on the writing campaign.
3). Do not buy a pet from a breeder or pet store, but adopt from a shelter. You'll be saving a life. Also, if you are personally thinking or know people who want to adopt a pet and they insist on wanting a pedigree/pure bred pet, once again go to a shelter as there are plenty of pedigree/purebred animals waiting for a forever home.
4). If you have just recently adopted a pet, or know someone who has, please, please, please spay/nueter the pet. By doing so, you or your friends will decrease the chance of having unwanted litters that will no doubt wind up in a shelter.
5). Lastly, bring an awareness of the gas chamber/heartstick method of euthanizing to the public. Many people don't realize it's still going on, and this would particularly hold true if you live in a state that still uses these forms of killing animals in shelters. Therefore, write an editorial to your newspapers, contact local TV news stations. The important emphasis is to get the message out of what is going on
Sources:
This website contains a petition to sign and a graphic video (watch with discretion that is IF you can watch)
North Carolina Coalition for Humane Euthanasia
Probably one of the best sites to find out about the laws being passed to end gas chamber/heartstick method of "euthanizing" pets in shelters is the Animal Law Coalition
Articles about "Amazing Grace"
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