This opinion piece was written and submitted by Madhu Anderson.
The following opinion piece is a community submission and doesn’t reflect the opinion of TRN Media, which encompasses SweetwaterNOW and The Radio Network.
It is saddening to learn that Wyoming stands alone as the last state in the nation still using gas chambers for the euthanasia of shelter pets. Recently, Missouri took the step to eliminate its last active gas chamber. Similarly, Rock Springs Animal Control removed its gas chamber in 2020. Despite these advances and strong public opposition, Green River and Evanston Animal Control in Wyoming continue with this inhumane practice.
Green River Animal Control is called a “no-kill” shelter, which means they claim to euthanize less than 10% of the animals. Although the shelter staff focuses on finding homes for adoptable animals, we should also address how they euthanize the animals that cannot be adopted. If they truly “rarely” use the gas chamber, as they recently claimed due to public outrage, then why do they keep it in their facility at all? Even one animal killed in the gas chamber is too many. No homeless pet deserves to be gassed to death.
Alternative, humane methods for euthanizing aggressive animals, as used by other shelters across the country, may include administering oral sedatives or tranquilizers before providing euthanasia injections, along with techniques such as the use of restraint poles, syringe poles, or darts.
The sad reality is that many animals entering the shelter have already suffered from neglect and abuse. Many are sick, injured, or old. When these emotionally and physically compromised animals are placed in the confined, terrifying space of a gas chamber, they experience sheer panic and terror, making a humane death absolutely impossible.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the preferred method of euthanasia in shelter facilities is the injection of a barbiturate or barbituric acid derivative. AVMA guidelines state that the gas chamber method is not recommended for routine euthanasia of cats and dogs in shelter settings.
The Humane Society of the United States has even offered Green River Animal Control a grant to help them switch from gas chambers to humane euthanasia by injection (EBI), but the city has refused this help.
Mayor Rust directed staff to move forward on this issue during a city council meeting in January 2022, but the gas chamber is still in use.
It’s time for Green River Animal Control to stop promoting the misconception that gas chambers are a humane method of euthanasia. Shelters nationwide have prioritized the safety and well-being of both their staff and animals by switching to the humane injection method.
We, the Wyoming Against Gas Chamber group, urge the community to join our regular peaceful protests outside Green River Animal Control and to call on city council members and Mayor Rust to ban this inhumane practice once and for all.
Sincerely,
Madhu Anderson
