On March 12, 2008 the Georgia House Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee held a hearing on H.B. 1060. But the bill has not been voted out of committee and is not likely to go further in this legislative session. 

Among those who appeared and testified at the hearing in support of H.B. 1060 were Rebecca Guinn, an attorney and author of the bill; Steve Shi, an attorney and law professor at UGA and president of the Board of the Habersham County shelter; Davis Cosey from the Perry County Humane Society, and Rabbi Larry Schlesinger, a Macon city council member who has worked to ban the gas chamber in that city.

Davis Cosey showed committee members a photo of the Warner Robins gas chamber which is basically made of cinder blocks. Probably not a good material to keep CO gases from escaping. Steve Shi noted until last year one county used a dumpster as a gas chamber.  Rebecca Guinn testified Tennessee banned gas chambers after a worker died from CO poisoning. Guinn said fewer than 1% of shelters nationwide still use gas chambers.

Rabbi Larry Schlesinger described how he watched 17 animals stuffed into a cinder block chamber in Macon at once and killed. He described their cries as they died.

Guinn pointed out puppies and kittens and older animals cannot inhale the CO gas as easily and sometimes must be gassed more than once.

It's not clear that cost is a sticking point for some counties who continue to use the chamber. Davis Cosey testified the Perry County Humane Society offered Warner Robins $10 per dog to euthanize them through lethal injections. Warner Robins refused and continues to cling to its outmoded chamber. Also, a comparison of costs for lethal injection and gas chambers revealed lethal injection is actually less expensive. Rebecca Guinn noted the cots of training animal control officers to administer lethal injections costs about $225.     

It is clear that those counties still using gas chambers likely have equipment that does not meet even AVMA standards. In its 2007 report the AVMA stated while lethal injection was the preferred method of euthanasia, gas chambers were acceptable only if they met the following guidelines:

   the equipment should be designed to minimize noise;

   animals placed together in chambers should be of the same species, and, if needed, should be restrained so that they will not hurt themselves or others. Chamber should allow for separation of individual animals. Chambers should not be overloaded and need to be kept clean to minimize odors that might distress animals subsequently euthanized;

   reptiles, amphibians, and diving birds and mammals have a great capacity for holding their  breath and anaerobic metabolism. Therefore, induction of anesthesia and time to loss of consciousness when using inhalants may be greatly prolonged. Other techniques may be more appropriate for these species;

   young animals should be euthanized by some alternative means;

   the equipment used should be of the highest quality construction and must be in good working order and in compliance with state and federal regulations. Leaky or faulty equipment may lead to slow, distressful death and be hazardous to other animals and to personnel;

   safeguards must be taken to prevent exposure of personnel. ...Any electrical equipment exposed to CO (eg, lights and fans) must be explosion proof;

  personnel using CO must be instructed thoroughly in its use and must understand its hazards and limitations;

  the chamber must be well lit and have view ports that allow personnel direct observation of animals;

  the CO flow rate should be adequate to rapidly achieve a uniform CO concentration of at least 6% after animals are placed in the chamber, and

  if the chamber is inside a room, CO monitors must be placed in the room to warn personnel of hazardous concentrations. It is essential that CO use be in compliance with state and federal occupational health and safety regulations.

How many of the remaining Georgia gas chambers meet these AVMA requirements? Apparently Tommy Irvin, Commissioner of the state's Dept. of Agriculture, did not want to discuss it at the hearing. He told Steve Shi basically to go home and stop telling the Department what to do. 

Committee member Rep. Gene Maddox, a long time veterinarian, insisted gas chambers are safe and humane.

Chairman Rep. Tom McCall said, "I had no idea some of these gas chambers were made of cinder blocks." At the close of the hearing  he promised, "We will keep hammering away at this."  

Original report: The push is on to eliminate the last of the animal gas chambers in Georgia. HB 1060 would close the loopholes left in the 1990 Georgia Humane Euthanasia Act that allowed many shelters to continue using these cruel devices.

Click here for more on the current law and litigation in 2007 that revealed lax enforcement by the Georgia state Department of Agriculture of the Georgia Humane Euthanasia Act.

This bill, H.B. 1060, introduced by Rep. Stan Watson, would make it illegal for any animal shelter in Georgia to use the gas chamber for euthanasia. The bill would also allow the Dept. of Agriculture to approve humane euthanasia certification courses and training.

Under the bill all public shelters would be required to report to the Dept. of Agriculture and make available to the public information about animals impounded or taken in by public shelters.

Reps. Edward Lindsey, Bill Hembree, Pam Stephenson, Al Williams, and Howard Mosby are also sponsors of H.B. 1060.   

Click here for a copy of the bill.

Talking Points: Why Georgia Should Ban Use of All Animal Gas Chambers Now

1. The 2007 AVMA report on euthanasia states that the "preferred method" for euthanasia of animals is lethal injection by barbiturate sodium pentobarbital. The report states: Barbiturates are less expensive than many other euthanasia agents..... The advantages of using barbiturates for euthanasia in small animals far outweigh the disadvantages. Intravenous injection of a barbituric acid derivative is the preferred method for euthanasia of dogs, cats, other small animals, and horses."

2.  The gas chambers grandfathered in under Georgia's Humane Euthanasia Act would now be 20 years old or more. Also, those used by counties otherwise exempt from the Act may be quite old and in disrepair. The AVMA report warns: "Leaky or faulty equipment may lead to slow, distressful death and be hazardous to other animals and to personnel."

3.  Also, it is becoming increasingly clear that regardless of the condition of the equipment, there are hidden, long term health hazards from exposure to CO even at very low levels. Shelter workers are at risk from carbon monoxide poisoning when they load and unload or clean the gas chamber, breathing in low levels of the gas on a regular basis. This is made worse with old, leaky equipment. Workers will not likely know they are breathing in low levels of gas. They are probably unaware of their chronic exposure to low levels of the gas. CO gas is odorless, colorless, tasteless that is very difficult to detect but deadly. The long term effects of exposure of shelter workers to this dangerous gas is just now being studied. The AVMA report warns, "[Carbon monoxide gas is].... hazardous to personnel because of the risk ... or health effects resulting from chronic exposure". According to the 1993 Report of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Panel on Euthanasia, as the concentration of CO [in the body] increases, humans may experience decreased visual acuity, tinnitus, nausea, progressive depression, confusion, and collapse.  Unconsciousness may be accompanied by convulsions and muscular spasms.  Long-term effects may include cancer and cardiovascular diseases." 

In Tennessee a shelter worker died while destroying an animal in a gas chamber. He died of CO poisoning. As a result Tennessee has banned the use of gas chambers.

4.  It is also clear that use of the gas chamber causes incalculable psychological suffering for many shelter workers. The report goes on to note inhalants such as CO gas requires high concentrations in the lungs before it is effective. Until there is sufficient build up of gas in the lungs, the animals experience a great deal of agitation. Here is how AVMA describes stress reactions of animals: "distress vocalization (this means barking, crying, howling), struggling, attempts to escape, defensive or redirected aggression, salivation, urination, defecation, evacuation of anal sacs, pupillary dilatation, tachycardia, sweating, and reflex skeletal muscle contractions causing shivering, tremors, or other muscular spasms." The buildup of gas in an animal's lungs is slower if there is decreased ventilation. The gas may make a hissing noise as it fills the chamber, thus increasing fear and anxiety.

 "Unconscious as well as conscious animals are capable of some of these responses. Fear can cause immobility or "playing dead" in certain species, particularly rabbits and chickens. This immobility response should not be interpreted as loss of consciousness when the animal is, in fact, conscious. The AVMA report states, "Reptiles, amphibians, and diving birds and mammals have a great capacity for holding their breath." The report goes on to state in these animals which include dogs and cats, the time to lose consciousness "may be greatly prolonged."

Shelter workers have documented the piercing cries, howling, frantic calls, scratching and panic of animals as they are gassed. Just putting them in the chamber is frightening for animals. The chamber is hot, confining and often smells probably like death. They don't know what is happening and they immediately experience panic and distress.

Baby animals take longer to die in gas chambers. AVMA reported, "Dogs, at 1 week old, survived for 14 minutes compared with a 3-minute survival time after a few weeks of age. Guinea pigs survived for 4.5 minutes at 1 day old, compared with 3 minutes at 8 days or older. Rabbits survived for 13 minutes at 6 days old, 4 minutes at 14 days, and 1.5 minutes at 19 days and older." The same effects have been reported for old or sick animals as well. Yet these are the animals most likely to end up in a gas chamber. It is not uncommon for shelter workers to have to gas these animals a second time before they finally succumb.

5.  Many states now mandate lethal injection as the only method of euthanasia allowed. It is reported less than 1% of shelters in the U.S. continue to use the gas chamber. Lethal injection is preferred by nearly all veterinarians, private rescues and shelters and, in fact, most public shelters. The Humane Society of the United States, American Humane, American Veterinary Medical Association, National Animal Control Association, the American Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights all advocate use of lethal injection of sodium pentobarbital instead of the outmoded gas chamber.

6.  The process of lethal injection is simply more humane. For the animal, if administered properly, it is usually no different than having blood drawn or a shot given by a veterinarian. The animal can be held by an attendant while a veterinarian or technician administers the injection. An attendant can remain with the animal as it loses consciousness which happens very quickly. If the animal is or becomes aggressive, it can be sedated prior to the injection.

Generally this method causes the animal little or no fear or distress. Shelter workers who use this method are able to comfort and calm the animal. Many spend time talking to and petting the animals first. The AVMA report on euthanasia emphasizes "[t]he need to minimize animal distress, including fear, anxiety, and apprehension, [in]...determining the method of euthanasia. Gentle restraint (preferably in a familiar and safe environment), careful handling, and talking during euthanasia often have a calming effect on animals that are used to being handled. Sedation and/or anesthesia may assist in achieving the best conditions for euthanasia... A route of injection should be chosen that causes the least distress in the animal for which euthanasia must be performed."

Gas is not recommended by AVMA or any other group for animals under 16 weeks of age. So, a back up method of lethal injection should be available anyway. Why use the chamber if lethal injection must be available anyway?

7.  Lethal injection or EBI is actually cheaper. A study conducted by the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society by using an Animal Euthanasia Cost Analysis work sheet developed at Texas A&M University, showed in September 2000 concluded that to euthanize 10,000 animals per year, cost of gassing averages $13,230 (excluding the cost of intravenous injection as a back-up method) while lethal injection averages $12,700.