Animal Control editorial

The following appears in today’s Herald. Below that is a note from a reader concerning an effort by CARA to save dogs at the shelter set to be euthanized.

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Gas chambers at animal shelters inhumane

It is a terrible reality in animal shelters throughout the United States. Many unwanted animals are put to death each day due to overcrowding in shelters and an unwillingness for Americans to control the current pet population by the proper means.
While euthanasia is essential, the methods used by some shelters are horrific and dangerous.
Lee County is one of 37 counties in North Carolina that currently uses gas chambers to euthanize animals, according to the North Carolina Coalition for Humane Euthanasia. No numbers were given on the number of Lee County kills, but numbers ranged from 458 animals killed in Watauga County in 2006 to 7,272 cats and dogs killed in Gaston County during the same year.
The gas chambers are small animal-sized rooms that release carbon monoxide poisoning, killing the pets in a matter of minutes. There have been reports at other shelters (not in Lee County) where animals were beaten or drowned when the gas wouldn’t work.
These are charges that put Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick in prison for two years.
Not only is it a horrific way to kill an animal, but it also puts the humans who work at these animal shelters at risk. According to the NCCHE, effects of carbon monoxide poisoning are common to humans who operate gas chambers. The group’s Web site, www.freewebs.com/ncche, lists effects of continued exposure to the poisonous gas.
NCCHE is asking people who are concerned about this practice to write David McLeod, secretary of the North Carolina Board of Agriculture, to request a law mandating euthanasia by injection being the only allowed method to put animals down in shelters. The group argues this method is used by veterinarians, and it is the only method approved by every national humane organization in the U.S.
You can argue that killing a dog or cat is killing a dog or cat, no matter how you do it. But we think if pet owners had a choice of a way to put down their own dog or cat, 100 percent would choose the injection. And if that isn’t enough to change the laws, injections provide absolutely no danger to the men and women who are doing the job.
If you want to join the effort to get the law changed, visit the NCCHE’s Web site, mentioned earlier. At the site, you can print out a sample letter to be sent to the Department of Agriculture and learn more about accepted and unaccepted forms of euthanasia.
It’s a topic nobody wants to think about, but if something isn’t done, the old method will continue, and it will continue to be funded by your tax dollars.

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From Irene Smith, Sanford

To the Editor:

Thank you for putting the spotlight on this terrible situation. There is another chapter in the saga of Lee County Animal Control unfolding at this moment with awful inevitability. The Animal Control facility, located here in Sanford, apparently needs to be painted. To facilitate the work, the entire population of animals will be euthanized this week. An employee of Animal Control said it was “Just business as usual.”

Carolina Animal Rescue & Adoption (CARA) and many other humane groups and concerned individuals are working desperately to remove as many dogs and cats from Animal Control as possible. Readers who are able to provide a foster home should call 919 777-9143 or email ismith404@aol.com.