A town in Missouri has voted to get rid of the state’s last remaining gas chamber used to kill shelter animals, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) reported in a press release.
With the promise of a $15,000 grant from HSUS to help with the costs of switching to a more humane method of euthanasia, the Poplar Bluff City Council voted to dismantle the ghastly box that was still being used at the local animal shelter, per KSDK 5 On Your Side. Unlike with euthanasia drugs that are meant to work quickly, it can take up to 20 minutes for an animal to die in a gas chamber, according to HSUS.
Once in the gas chamber, animals can often smell those who died before them — scents that include the frightened creatures’ urine and feces. And in some of the most horrific cases, animals are still conscious when their organs begin to fail.
“We applaud the Poplar Bluff City Council’s decision to end this cruel and archaic method of euthanasia for our shelter animals and admire their leadership in working together to transition to a model that doesn’t subject animals to undue suffering,” Cody Atkinson, Missouri state director for the Humane Society of the United States said. “Missouri was one of two remaining states using chambers to euthanize domestic animals and tonight, we changed that.”
Wyoming is now the only state in the United States where the gas chamber is still used to kill shelter animals. If you haven’t yet, please sign our petition urging Green River Mayor Pete Rust to shut down the local shelter’s gas chamber and switch to the more compassionate method of euthanasia by injection of approved drugs.
Lady Freethinker applauds Poplar Bluff for finally eliminating the gas chamber, ending an era of needless suffering.
