My Fourth Senate Bill

Ban the Euthanizing of Unwanted and Abandoned Animals in Shelters by Gassing.

I rise before you today to present this bill to ban the use of gas chambers to euthanize unwanted pets. 

The use of carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide in a "gas chamber" is painful and horribly inhumane. Instead, shelters should use the humane practice of lethal injection. According to American Humane, "Currently, only nine states have laws that explicitly ban all forms of gassing for all types of animals in shelters (including ferals and wildlife): Arizona, Delaware, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wyoming. Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Virginia have prohibited carbon dioxide and monoxide for shelter cats and dogs". Let’s fight so that all states ban "gas chambers" to euthanize unwanted shelter pets. Lethal injection is actually cheaper – there is no reason to continue the practice of gassing.

Additionally, according to The American Veterinary Medical Association, Guides on Euthanasia 2007: "Carbon Monoxide is extremely hazardous for personnel because it is highly toxic and difficult to detect . . . The advantages of using barbiturates for euthanasia in small animals far outweigh the disadvantages. Intravenous injection of a barbituric acid derivative is the preferred method for euthanasia of dogs, cats, other small animals, and horses."