P.O. 9652 Chapel Hill, N.C.27515-9652 --
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News and Observer
Feb 04, 2006
Humane destruction sought
Debate pits injection against gas chamber
This dog was one of three destroyed Thursday at the Franklin County Animal Shelter, which uses a gas chamber. The shelter in Franklin and those in dozens of other North Carolina counties continue to use that method.
Marti Maguire, Staff Writer
In a way, the little brown mutt with the floppy ears sealed her own fate.
The once-friendly pet's temperament changed after she gave birth to pups. She bit her owner one too many times.
So he took her to the Franklin County Animal Shelter, where she was euthanized in a 5-by-4-foot cinder block box pumped full of carbon monoxide.
Franklin's is one of dozens of North Carolina shelters that still use gas chambers to kill unwanted dogs and cats. The practice is falling out of favor nationally, and some animal activists are lobbying the state to stop it.
A new state law puts the state Department of Agriculture in charge of inspecting animal shelters, as well as creating standards for euthanizing animals.
"Everybody in the humane movement is hoping the agriculture department will say, 'You have to use lethal injection,' " said Bill Lippy, a Duke University professor who does pro bono work prosecuting illegal euthanasia cases.
Some counties are responding. In December, Franklin commissioners passed animal-control reforms that will include switching to lethal injection, probably within a year. Other counties, including Johnston and Chatham, are considering a change.
Whether animals succumb to a shot in the leg or a stream of lethal gas might seem an irrelevant point.
But to animal-welfare activists, the gas chamber is an abominable source of suffering.
"It's a pet holocaust," said Melissa Kipp, whose prolific e-mail messages against the practice have prompted gas chamber opponents from as far away as the Netherlands to contact officials in Johnston and Franklin counties.
Between 4 million and 5 million dogs and cats are killed every year in shelters nationwide, according to estimates by the Humane Society of the United States.
North Carolina's rate -- 26 dogs and cats killed per thousand people in 2004 -- is well above the national average of 18 dogs and cats killed per thousand people. In 2004, 220,000 cats and dogs were killed in state shelters.
No one tracks how many shelters in the state use gas. But activists say slightly more than half of the counties do. In the Triangle, only Johnston, Franklin and Chatham use gas for most animals.
At least 13 states, mostly in the Northeast and on the West Coast, have outlawed the use of gas chambers for dogs and cats, or mandated the use of lethal injection.
The Humane Society and the American Veterinary Medical Association endorse both methods but prefer injections. Other animal groups, including the American Humane Association and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, oppose using gas.
Both methods are painless to animals, but gas is slower and more prone to misuse.
An injection stops the brain from sending signals to the body. It renders an animal unconscious in less than 20 seconds and dead within a minute.
The carbon monoxide used in chambers seeps into the blood, forcing out oxygen. Most animals die within five minutes. But the 30 to 60 seconds before they lose consciousness vexes animal lovers.
Even in the best chambers, dogs and cats scratch at their cages, or bark and howl for up to a minute. They are not in pain, vets say, but are agitated about being in a dark, enclosed space.
Many North Carolina chambers are not up to veterinary standards, causing more trauma to animals.
Animals that aren't put in separate cages will scratch and bite one another. And in a chamber using less than 6 percent carbon monoxide -- or when too many animals are in a chamber at once -- large dogs can struggle for minutes before falling unconscious .
Some animals may even survive one gassing, only to be gassed again. The worst chambers are no more than metal boxes with animals piled on top of one another, activists say.
Economic decision
Many of North Carolina's small, rural counties that use gas chambers say it comes to economics.
Long-term costs are similar for the two methods. But switching to lethal injection would mean investing in drugs and training staff. That could strap counties that now spend as little as $20 per animal.
The Orange County shelter spends $150 per animal. Director Joe Pulcinella said Orange residents are willing to pay for high standards of animal care.
Federal laws also make injection chemicals difficult to obtain.
State veterinarian Mary Ann McBride, charged with implementing the new law, said she hopes to work with shelters over time to treat animals better rather than alienating them with a rush of stricter standards.
She expects the state will set standards within six months. But animal activists are impatient. McBride has gotten hundreds of e-mail and phone messages from gas chamber opponents, some so nasty that the State Bureau of Investigation is looking into them.
"They think I'm the most evil person on earth to even consider allowing gas to continue to be used in North Carolina," she said. "But we have to look at it realistically."
In Johnston County, shelter director Ernie Wilkinson is waiting for guidance from the state to change to lethal injection.
In the meantime, he said, he'll focus on increasing adoptions. "Whatever it takes to get them out of here on four paws rather than laid in a
bag, I'm going to channel my energy that way," he said.
In Franklin, where the switch will come when a new shelter is built, if not sooner, shelter director Maylon Edwards said he is not sure whether lethal injection will be better for animals. But he knows it won't be better for him.
"For me to come in here and take care of dogs and feed dogs and try to get them adopted, then to take them back there and stick a needle in them, it will get to you," Edwards said.
Staff writer Marti Maguire can be reached at 829-4841.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Here are some things you can do to reduce dog and cat euthanizations:
Adopt your pets from shelters rather than pet stores or breeders. For information:
Petfinders (national site includes listings for Franklin and Johnston), [29]www.petfinder.com
Save-a-Pet, [30]www.1-800-save-a-pet.com
Wake County, 250-1475 [31]www.wakegov.com/pets
Durham County, 560-0640 [32]www.apsofdurham.org
Orange County, 967-7383 [33]www.animalprotectionsociety.org
Chatham Rescue, Pittsboro, 542-5757 [34]www.chathamanimalrescue.org
SAFE Haven for Cats, Raleigh, 872-1128 [35]www.safehavenforcats.org
SPCA of Wake County, 772-2326 [36]www.spcawake.org
Second Chance, 460-0610 [37]www.secondchancenc.org
Spay or neuter your pet. For information:
Operation Catnip, 779-7247 [38]www.operationcatnip.org
Carolina Mobile S/N Clinic, 906-7729 [39]www.carolinamobilespay.com
SNAP-NC, 783-7627 [40]www.snap-nc.org
SAFE Care Feline Spay Neuter Clinic, 872-1128 www.safehavenforcats.org/SpayNeuterClinic.cfm
Pet Overpopulation Patrol (POP-NC), 942-2250 [42]www.pop-nc.com
Contribute to or volunteer for an animal-welfare organization. Here are some national groups:
Humane Society of the United States [43]www.hsus.org
Animal Protection Institute [44]www.api4animals.org
American Humane Association [45]www.aha.org
TWO WAYS TO EUTHANIZE ANIMALS
GAS CHAMBER: Animals are put into a chamber that fills with carbon monoxide. The gas replaces oxygen in the animal's red blood cells, causing it to lose consciousness (usually within 30-60 seconds) and die (within five minutes).
Advantages:
Labor costs are lower because several animals can be put down at once.
Involves less handling of animals, which is safer in cases where they are aggressive.
Carbon monoxide is not a restricted substance and is readily available.
Limitations:
Animals lose consciousness more slowly than they do after a lethal injection.
Hazardous carbon monoxide poses a risk to workers who unload animals or operate a leaky chamber.
When too many animals are inside, some may not inhale enough gas, prolonging their death.*
Animals not put in separate cages fight with one another until they lose consciousness.*
Young, old, sick or pregnant dogs and cats inhale the gas too slowly, prolonging their death.
These practices violate veterinary standards for euthanasia by carbon monoxide.
LETHAL INJECTION: Sodium pentobarbital is injected into a vein. The drug shuts down neurotransmitters in the brain, rendering animals unconscious within 20 seconds. The animal dies when the brain stops sending signals to the heart, generally within a minute.
Advantages:
Animals die painlessly and quickly.
Animal can be held and comforted as the shot is given.
Highly accurate, with little to no variation in how animals react.
Limitations:
More labor-intensive because each animal is put down individually.
Drugs used are restricted by federal law. In North Carolina, shelters that use lethal injection partner with veterinarians who must accept some liability for their use.
Untrained workers could miss a vein, increasing trauma for the animal.
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