Jessica Vigos

Banning the use of Gas Chambers on Utah’s Homeless Pets

By Danielle Barr, Darcie Pierce, Justin Pour and Jessica Vigos | Photo by www.ecorazzi.com

Imagine you are the one forced into this metal box. As you sit there wondering what is going on you hear the latch of the door lock you in. Suddenly you are frantic, panicking; struggling because you do not understand what is going on. There is no exit, no way to leave. There are others in the metal box with you. It’s crowded! Some start to fight. Others start crying. A small hiss starts and this causes more panic. It’s hard to breath! The air seems thin and you begin to cough. Then you feel short of breath. It’s harder to breath while you frantically try to get out. You are choking! You begin to vomit, cry, and scream. There is no help! No escape! Those around you are convulsing, defecating, crying and screaming. The ones that were helping you are now killing you! Why won’t they let you out? What did you do wrong?

This is what the last fifteen to forty-five minutes of life is like for an animal that is being gassed to death. For most this is almost too painful, too horrific to imagine but this is what is happening to stray animals and unclaimed pets across the United States every single day. Some animals survive the first round and are put through this horrific process a second time. This is happening in Utah. We are one of the twenty-four states that still use gas chambers to euthanize animals. New York, California and Arizona have all banned the use of gas chambers. To view a complete list of states that have banned the use of gas chambers as a method of euthanasia go to Animal Aid. We firmly believe that if these states can ban this horribly inhumane practice, so can we!

March 3, 1999 was the last time a death row inmate was executed in a gas chamber. Gassing of death row inmates was deemed cruel and inhumane. While it is inhumane to use a gas chamber on murderers, we still have states that use this method to kill innocent animals on a daily basis. Webster’s dictionary defines euthanasia as “the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy” yet no part of this process is painless let alone “relatively painless.”

We would like to see animal shelters move toward the use of lethal injection which is more humane than gassing animals. Lethal injection was designed to provide a humane path for euthanizing animals. This method avoids the fear, pain and unnecessary suffering the animals experience in a gas chamber. “Most shelter workers wish to hold and comfort a frightened animal in its final moments of life. That act may be the only kindness the animal has ever known” as suggested by the American Humane Association. Lethal injection is preferred by animal advocates and a majority of the public.

Another reason to move towards lethal injection for animals is the cost. Lethal injection is less expensive than gassing animals. This is only the case if one animal is placed in the gassing chamber. Often time’s shelters will put more than one animal in the gas chamber to stretch their dollar. When this technique is used, gassing is less expensive than lethal injection but this practice makes gassing even more inhumane. This report breaks down the cost to euthanize by lethal injection, which is $2.29 per animal. It also breaks down the cost to euthanize by gas chamber, which ranges from $2.77 to $4.98 per animal.

For some who have used both methods there is a split in emotions. The article “Is gassing easier” gives us a brief glimpse into the human’s side of the use of gas chambers. Is it right for us to allow animals to suffer through this excruciating, unimaginable fear and pain for up to forty-five minutes because it is “easier for us”? The courts have deemed this cruel and do not allow it to be used when executing death row inmates. This should be all the proof we need to ban the use of gas chambers for animals.

Do people know Utah’s homeless pets are being gassed to an excruciating end? The answer is no! Most people do not and this is why it is still happening. We can change the process for these animals by supporting HB150. This bill will continue to come up on the House and Senate floor. Each time it does it will gain more support. In speaking with previous Director of Salt Lake County Animal Services , April Harris, she suggests that the only way to get the gas chambers banned in Utah is to get support of the constituents in Utah countyand South Jordan.

For more information on what you can do to help homeless pets in Utah visit Take Action. This is a page that is “not for one animal, it’s about the rights of thousands! Unfortunately euthanasia is part of life in most shelters, as much as we would like to change that, most realize that, until there are major changes in our society this will remain to be the case BUT what we must all do is ensure that it is done in the most humane way possible”.

Be the change you wish to see in the world and vote yes on HB150! This bill is sponsored by Angela Romero from District 26 and she needs our support. We need to ban gas chambers as a method of euthanizing animals. Please sign the state petition that supports the prevention of using gas chambers on homeless pets in the state of Utah. There is also a federal petition that is gaining a great deal of support for banning gas chambers across the entire United States. You can also write your Congressman and let him know that you support HB150.