Update June 23, 2008: The Macon city council has voted unanimously to ban the use of animal gas chambers!

 You can click here to send a message thanking the Macon City Council.

BUT, the opposition persists. Mayor Robert Reichert has threatened a veto. Email the mayor at R.Reichert@macon.ga.us or contact him here and urge him to sign into law the ban on animal gas chambers. Remind the mayor of the dangers of CO gas to shelter workers and the cruelty of this antiquated device to the animals.

Click on Downloads for more Talking Points and read Animal Law Coalition's report below for more information.

Update March 13, 2008:  There are rumblings that Macon Animal Control is demanding a $100,000 increase in its budget if the city stops using the gas chamber in favor of lethal injection. The money is demanded for additional staff to administer the lethal injections. One employee who asked not to be identified, said the money was also for additional space, a euthanasia room.

The mayor has threatened to veto a ban on gas chambers. The whole issue has been referred to a sub committee that addresses issues relating to companion animals. It is not clear when the proposed ban will come up again for a hearing or vote.

There is no doubt reforms are needed. A bigger, better shelter, maybe a regional facility, more animal control officers. A city that killed 4,000 animals last year and only adopted out 160 certainly needs spay/neuter, adoption and owner education programs.

But a ban on gas chambers should not be held up in an effort to get more funding for other improvments or more staff. 

The 4,000 animals killed last year died in the gas chamber. Though Georgia's Humane Euthanasia Act, generally bans gas chambers in the state, there are exceptions that allow Macon to continue the use of this medieval, cruel device to euthanize animals.  

Rabbi Larry Schlesinger has described very poignantly how he watched animal control shove 17 animals in the chamber at once, how the animals cried and squealed as they died.  It's time to stop the cruelty now.

Macon does not even operate this chamber legally. Animal control has admitted the animals are not checked individually before they are killed, a violation of state law.      

From Rabbi Schlesinger's experience, it is clear the Macon chamber does not meet the AVMA guidelines either. These guidelines state use of a gas chamber is not acceptable even to the AVMA unless:

    the equipment is designed to minimize noise;

    animals placed together in chambers are of the same species, and, if needed, restrained so that they will not hurt themselves or others;

    chamber allows for separation of individual animals;

    chamber is not overloaded and kept clean to minimize odors that might distress animals subsequently euthanized;

    reptiles, amphibians, and diving birds and mammals which have a great capacity for holding their breath and anaerobic metabolism, are euthanized by some other means; 

    young and old animals are euthanized by some alternative means;

     the equipment is of the highest quality construction and in good working order, not leaky or faulty, and in compliance with state and federal regulations;

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

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

     chamber is well lit and has view ports that allow personnel direct observation of animals;

      the CO flow rate is 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 are placed in the room to warn personnel of hazardous concentrations.

__________

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Click here to sign the petition which will be presented to the Macon City Council to encourage their support of a ban!
 
Contact the city council members listed below who have said they oppose the ban and urge them to change their minds. Click on Downloads to the right on this page and you will find Talking Points including information about the cost of lethal injection as opposed to the gas chamber. Please be polite. Also, send an email to those supporting the ban and thank them.

Those against the ban pm gas chambers:
Lonnie Miley - Lonnie.Miley@Macon.ga.us
Virgil Watkins - Virgil.Watkins@Macon.ga.us
James Timley - James.Timley@Macon.ga.us
 
Those council members for the ban:
Larry Schlesinger - Larry.Schlesinger@Macon.ga.us
Nancy White - Nancy.White@Macon.ga.us
 
Sponsor of the Resolution:
Erick Erickson - Erick.Erickson@Macon.ga.us

Other council members: rick.hutto@macon.ga.us; miriam.paris@macon.ga.us; lauren.benedict@macon.ga.us; mike.cranford@macon.ga.us; alveno.ross@macon.ga.us; charles.jones@macon.ga.us; elaine.lucas@macon.ga.us; ed.defore@macon.ga.us; tom.ellington@macon.ga.us;

You can also click here to send a message to the Macon City Council.   

For more on gas chambers in Georgia, click here.