More than 100,000 cats and dogs are euthanized every year in Texas shelters. Euthanasia by carbon monoxide 鈥� essentially a gas chamber 鈥� is still common practice in nearly 30 shelters.
Within the last five years, almost 30 Texas cities banned gas chambers, switching from carbon monoxide to lethal injection. Pennsylvania and Louisiana banned gas chambers statewide last year.
This legislative session, and aim to end shelter euthanasia of dogs and cats by carbon monoxide and only allow euthanasia by sodium pentobarbital injection.
The , the and are animal welfare groups that support both bills.
鈥淭here has been a recent nationwide trend to get rid of this outdated method of euthanasia,鈥� says Texas Humane Legislation Network vice-president Shelby Bobosky. 鈥淰irtually every shelter agency agrees that euthanasia by injection is the preferred and humane method for euthanasia.鈥�
The group that 鈥渂ecause Texas does not require mandatory inspections of shelter gas chambers, the risk to personnel is greater than elsewhere.鈥�
Euthanasia by injection is professionally recommended by every veterinary medical association, animal control association, and humane organization, including the and the .
Here in Austin, the finished 2012 with .
