Pet Euthanasia Many people often wonder about how pet euthanasia is carried out in animal shelters. Many animal shelters in the United States use lethal gas, in the form of carbon monoxide. There’s a big debate about the use of CO as a method of euthanasia. The effectiveness and rapidity of the gas depends largely on what type of chamber is used and on how the gas is delivered. Modern commercial chambers bring about the quickest death, but all shelters can’t afford such chambers. In some shelters, death occurs in less than twenty seconds with CO, but in others, it can take as long as twenty-five minutes. When the animals are all tossed in a cage together, they sometimes panic when they hear the hissing of the gas. In such cases, fights often occur, and animals suffer painful injuries and extreme stress and fear before finally dying. Some shelters perform pet euthanasia in animal shelters by lethal injection that’s administered by a veterinarian. According to the Humane Shelter of the United States, this is the only acceptable form of pet euthanasia, and many vets agree. An injection of sodium pentobarbital is administered in a vein, and the animal loses consciousness almost immediately. After that, the heart stops. When owners take their sick or aged pets to the vet to be “put to sleep,” this is the method that’s usually used. Even lethal injection is often debated, however. The argument is often about the humanity of a “heart stick” – an injection directly into the heart. Many people consider this type of lethal injection inhumane when used on a conscious animal. As of 2010, the “heart stick” cannot be used in Georgia animal shelters unless the animal is unconscious or comatose. Other states have similar laws, and in several states that don’t currently have laws requiring EBI (euthanasia by injection) for shelter animals, laws are pending. I think all states should have EBI laws. Many of the animals killed have led terrible lives. The least we can do is to give them a peaceful, quick, painless death. Pet Euthanasia - Lethal Injection - EBI
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 05:13:10 +0000
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